Established 1885

Our Motto

" A man's a man for a' that"

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We think na on the long Scots miles,
The moses, waters, slaps, and styles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Whare sits our sulky, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

The Federation History

In the summer of 1884 prominent Burnsians were attending the unveiling of a bust of Robert Burns in Poet's corner of Westminster Abbey. A casual remark of David Mackay to David Sneddon and Colin Rae Brown led to a preliminary meeting in London and to an inaugural meeting in Kilmarnock on 17th July 1885 to form the Burns Federation. Seventeen gentlemen sat at the meeting, fourteen from Kilmarnock Burns Club, two from Glasgow and one though originally from Greenock now resident in London.Following the institution at Kilmarnock a circular was sent out to the secretaries of all known Burns clubs and Scottish societies throughout the world:

Dear Sir,
As you may have already observed from the Public Press, an important Meeting of the Kilmarnock Burns Club was held here in July last; at which were present, personally or by deputy, the Presidents of a number of Metropolitan and District Clubs; when it was unanimously resolved that an Incorporating Union of the Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies throughout the world be formed, under the designation "The Burns Federation".
The nucleus of an executive council was at the same time appointed to frame a Constitution, and bring the movement under the notice of every known Burns Club and Scottish Society. In pursuance of these instructions, the said interim Executive Council (whose names are herewith submitted) beg to lay before your club the following abstract of the Constitution, in order that the general scope and aims of the Federation may be easily comprehended. They have the utmost confidence that these will so commend themselves that every admirer of the Immortal Bard will see it to be his duty and interest to affiliate at an early date, and so help to establish that wide and comprehensive Brotherhood which is the primary object of the movement and which is the most intense aspiration of the Poet's heart.

The object of the Federation shall be to strengthen and consolidate the bond of fellowship currently existing among the members of Burns Clubs, by universal affiliation; its motto being- "A man's a man for a' that"

The members of every Burns Club registered as belonging to the Federation shall be granted a diploma admitting them to a meeting of all the clubs connected with the Federation, they being subject to the rules of the Club visited, but having no voice in its management, unless admitted a member of the Club visited according to local form. The Affiliation fee for each Club shall be One Guinea and for each Member's Diploma One shilling, these payments being final and not annual.

The Funds of the Federation, so accruing, shall be vested in the Executive Council for the purpose of acquiring and preserving Holograph Manuscripts and other interesting Relics connected with the life and works of the Poet, and for other purposes of a like nature, as the said council may determine.

The headquarters of the Federation shall be at Kilmarnock, the premier club in the movement, the town in which the first edition of the Poet's works was published and which contains the only properly organised Burns Museum in the United Kingdom.

The election of an Honorary Council comprising:-All the Presidents of the Affiliated Clubs, and other Gentlemen of eminence nominated by the Executive.

The election of an Executive Council to consist of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the leading Affiliated Clubs, and other eligible gentlemen, with power to add to their number.

Colin Rae Brown suggested that as the idea of a Federation had originated in London, London Burns Club should have the distinction of being No.1 on the Federation roll.