I thank my colleague Joan McAlpine for bringing this debate to the chamber and highlighting in her really interesting opening speech not just the cultural but the economic benefits that Robert Burns brings us.

Of course, without Irvine there quite simply would not have been a world-famous poet called Robert Burns for us to debate. That is why I was surprised and a wee bit disappointed to have seen no reference to the town of Irvine on the website for the centre for Robert Burns studies to which the motion refers.

I spoke at length last year, and make no apologies for repeating today, about how Irvine is without a doubt the cradle of the poet.

In 1781, a young Robert Burns arrived in Irvine as an apprentice flax worker. By the time he left Irvine the following year, he had resolved to

“endeavour at the character of a poet”,

in large part due to the friendship that developed between Burns and local sea captain, Richard Brown, who encouraged him to become a poet.

Burns the man may have been born in Alloway, but Burns the poet was born in Irvine. It thus seems fitting that Irvine is home to the oldest Burns club in the world, which has an unbroken history since it was first established in 1826. Later this month, Annie Small will be installed as the first-ever female president of the club in its nearly 200-year history. As a lifelong egalitarian and a man who expressed support for women’s rights long before such views were remotely fashionable, I am sure that the bard would have welcomed that as much as I do.

As well as the oldest Burns club in the world, Irvine is home to the Wellwood Burns Centre and Museum, which cares for a hugely impressive collection of Burns-related items ranging from priceless original manuscripts and letters to rare and significant books and paintings. Among the museum’s collection are six of the original manuscripts that Burns sent to the printer John Wilson in Kilmarnock, for his famous Kilmarnock edition. Visitors can also see the world-famous painting “Burns in Edinburgh” that was painted in 1887 by C M Hardie, as well as a set of five large oil paintings of scenes from “Tam o’ Shanter” that were commissioned by the club.

The museum possesses original letters from Robert Burns to his friend David Sillar, as well as a letter to Robert Burns from his brother, Gilbert Burns, dealing with family and farming matters. That is just a small snapshot of the vast array of unique and priceless Burns-related items and artefacts held by the museum in Irvine—a museum located in the heart of the very town where the poet was created.

I trust that members will by now share my surprise and disappointment that Irvine’s Burns club and museum are not listed alongside the likes of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and the National Library of Scotland as a must visit for Burns enthusiasts. It is often said that Irvine is the best-kept secret in the Burns world. That seems to be the case, but we do not want it to be a secret any longer; we want Irvine to enjoy the national and international recognition that it deserves, and we want to see Irvine take its place as the Burns-related cultural tourism hotspot that it should rightly be.

As Burns’s day approaches, I would like to extend an invitation to the cabinet secretary and the minister—and, indeed, bearing in mind Oliver Mundell’s contribution, to all members in the chamber—to come and see the magnificent collection in Irvine. Come and see the museum—I look forward to welcoming you all.