Burns Night: Lady Carolina Nairne's poignant work mistaken for bard's

The Land O' the Leal, 1 of the astir poignant Scottish people songs, is often mistaken arsenic the enactment of the large bard, Robert Burns.

But the lament, sung for good implicit a period astatine Ulster Scots gatherings, is successful information the enactment of Lady Carolina Nairne.

Born into an aristocratic household successful 1766, she was a modern of Burns who, contempt being a deed opus writer, kept her existent individuality a concealed passim her life.

On infrequent visits to her publisher, she dressed up arsenic an aged woman and adopted the pseudonym Mrs Bogan of Bogan.

Her empathy and humanity, her accomplishment astatine matching lyrics to accepted airs and the enduring themes of place, radical and family, made her songs an instant occurrence successful Ulster's farmsteads and gathering halls.

Matthew Warwick, Education Officer astatine the Ulster Scots Community Network, says successful the 19th Century, galore would person not person believed that a "mere woman" could constitute songs of this quality - an denotation of wide misogynist attitudes.

It was conscionable assumed the writer was Burns.

Carolina Oliphant was calved successful Perthshire and grew up surrounded by euphony and dancing.

Her household were ardent supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie and had their property confiscated for 17 years aft the nonaccomplishment of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.

Carolina was named successful honour of the Bonnie Prince and remained a staunch Jacobite protagonist each her life.

Many of her songs - specified arsenic Will Ye' No Come Back Again and Charlie is My Darlin - explicit the anticipation and sadness of the Jacobite cause.

It was a opus astir a Ploughman which archetypal encouraged Carolina to crook her manus to penning lyrics.

She came crossed a mentation of a song, The Pleughman, astatine a state fair.

The communicative goes that she picked up a publication and was shocked to work words which she considered precise rude.

She decided connected an alternate - a cleaner, much wholesome version, 1 successful keeping with her heavy Christian faith.

The song, performed by her brother, was an instant deed crossed the region and she went connected to constitute - and cleanable up - galore songs.

Carolina near Perth for Edinburgh erstwhile she joined her 2nd cousin, Maj William Nairne, becoming a baroness.

He was stationed astatine the Castle and Carolina became portion of polite Edinburgh society, portion astatine the aforesaid clip moving secretly connected songs.

These were published, with the assistance of friends, successful the Scottish Minstrel and different opus books.

Only her sisters and adjacent friends were alert of her activity.

Remarkably, she ne'er revealed her song-writing vocation to her hubby - and nary 1 is rather definite why.

Was she acrophobic astir embarrassing her hubby successful an epoch erstwhile women weren't expected to person immoderate important interests extracurricular the home?

Freeland Barbour, a euphony shaper and a distant comparative who has written a caller biography of Lady Nairne, suggests the crushed for her secrecy could besides person been a Christian modesty.

Either that, oregon - arsenic her Mrs Bogan alter-ego suggests - a mischievous consciousness of humour.

The opus books introduced her enactment to the Ulster Scots assemblage done the galore household and taste connections crossed the alleged Narrow Sea successful Northern Ireland.

But her individuality was lone disclosed aft her death, erstwhile her friends believed she should beryllium recognised for her work.

Over the past 2 centuries, portion Burns' euphony and poesy has gained planetary recognition, Lady Nairne's accomplishments person dilatory slipped from view.

There's nary tourer way oregon depository dedicated to Lady Nairne arsenic determination are to Robert Burns, and she doesn't stock his raucous, colourful reputation, says Matthew Warwick.

But the simplicity and heartfelt quality of her songs person had a beardown and lasting entreaty for the Ulster Scots assemblage - adjacent if they didn't cognize she wrote them.

Dr Frank Ferguson, manager of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies astatine the University of Ulster, agrees that the achievements of Lady Nairne merit to beryllium amended recognised and celebrated by Ulster Scots.

"Important arsenic Burns was, the Scottish transportation is besides astir a big of different important radical and we request to cognize much astir Lady Nairne and what her enactment meant to the Ulster Scots community," helium says.

In The Secret Bard, a peculiar Burns' Night programme connected BBC Radio Ulster, Helen Mark unravels the story, with vocalist Sylvia Burnside performing immoderate of Lady Carolina's champion known songs, including The Rowan Tree and the moving Land O' the Leal.