The Neil Munro Society was founded in 1996 to encourage interest in the works of Neil Munro (1863-1930). It organises an annual programme of talks and other events in Munro's home town of Inveraray and in Glasgow and attracts leading authorities on Scottish literature and history to address its meetings.
A growing membership in Britain and overseas testifies to the revival of interest in Munro and his work as a novelist, short story-writer, journalist, critic and poet.
A Munro Archive is being created to assist with research into Munro's life and work. Children's writing competitions are organised and a twice-yearly magazine ParaGraphs, with texts of lectures, articles, and other material of Munro interest is published. Members can also buy copies of all Munro titles currently in print at discounted prices.
On this page:Winter Meeting, AGM, Annual Conference, Letter to Members, Minutes, Membership, Society News
PARAGRAPHS POSTAGE:
Please accept our apologies!
Some of the 'C5' envelopes we purchased for posting ParaGraphs turned out to be too large for standard postage and were classified as 'Large Letters'. As a result some of you were charged £1 handling charge + 0.22p (underpaid postage). Please let us know (email,letter or phone) if you were one of the unlucky ones and we will gladly refund your postage.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
February 17th 2012: Winter Meeting in Glasgow Art Club:An Evening with Anne Lorne Gillies
May 12th 2012: Annual Conference and AGM:Centenary of publication of Ayrshire Idylls.Lecture by John Hodgart with other items to be confirmed.
Minutes of recent Annual General Meetings of the Neil Munro Society can be viewed on a separate page - Click on Minutes
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Committee of The Neil Munro Society may I wish you a very Happy New Year for 2011. Once again I am delighted to report another successful and healthy year for the Society with four new members joining us since the AGM last June. All our meetings and excursions were enjoyable and well attended and I must thank you all for your very helpful suggestions for talks, publications and trips. Please keep them coming in! They are very helpful when we are planning the year’s programme and help ensure that it reflects the wishes of the whole membership.
Our 2010 Winter Meeting in 2010, held as usual in The Glasgow Art Club, comprised a splendid lecture on “The Telford Churches of the Highlands” from the Very Rev Allan Mac Lean and a hilarious performance of Archie sketches by Ronnie Armstrong and Dave Harvie. The AGM and spring Conference began with a spectacular morning visit in ideal conditions to Dunderave Castle and we are very grateful to Dr Joffe (owner), Mary Kennedy (housekeeper) and our own Michael Davis for making it such a brilliant success. This was followed by a fine talk on “Neil Munro and Contemporary Historical Novelists” by Prof Douglas Gifford and a fascinating presentation on “A Painting of William Dyce” by Ken MacTaggart. In the evening Aonghas Padruig Campbell, in a highly entertaining talk, gave us a Gaelic novelist’s view of Neil Munro.
Then in June thirty of us made a wonderful weekend excursion to Islay with visits to Finlaggan, Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte. Bowmore and Kildalton – an unqualified success, expertly planned and managed by Dorothy Paterson.
Finally, in September, thirty of us visited the Stones of Knapdale under the expert guidance of archaeologist Steve Boyle.
And in addition to all of this by now everyone should have received their copies of ParaGraphs 27 and 28.
Last year the Society also received the very generous gift of £20,000 from our late secretary Brian Osborne’s estate, thanks to the kindness of his father, Mr Malcolm Osborne. How this money might be best used was discussed at the AGM. So far £10,000 has been invested to provide a small bursary to assist a local pupil going on to further/higher education, a new notice board for the monument in Glen Aray has been made and will be erected in the spring, and a piping competition (arranged by James Beaton and The Piping Centre) has produced a pibroch and a march to celebrate Neil Munro.
On the publishing front I am delighted to inform you that our member Bob Preston has completed an excellent and completely new edition of the poetry of Neil Munro called Bagpipe Ballads and Other Poems which we will officially launch at this year’s Winter Meeting. In addition to that volume the publisher Kennedy and Boyd has also reprinted Munro’s Clyde: River and Firth and hopes to re-issue Munro’s History of the Royal Bank of Scotland very soon. When that is done all of Neil Munro’s books will be back in print – and the Society will have achieved one of its principal objectives!
On a less cheerful note some of you may not know that Robert Stewart of Inveraray, one of our longest serving, most loyal and greatly respected members, has been very unwell for the last few weeks. We send him our very best wishes for an early recovery.
Our 2011 programme will begin with our Winter Meeting in The Glasgow Art Club on Friday, 18th February where we will launch Bagpipe Ballads and Other Poems, hear a lecture on Lady Grange, The Prisoner of St Kilda from our own Margaret Macaulay and watch some slides of Society outings over the last fifteen years. Our AGM and Annual Spring Conference will take place on Saturday, 14th May. We will gather in the morning for coffee at the Stagecoach Inn, Cairndow and then proceed to a tour of Ardkinglas House. In the afternoon we will discuss Neil Munro’s The Lost Pibroch Stories and hear a talk on The Piping Traditions of Argyll. In the evening, since numbers have been falling off a little in recent years for the evening talk, the Committee has decided to try something new, so at about 6.30pm a meal will be arranged in the George Hotel for those who would like to stay on. More information on this will follow nearer the time.
Once again on behalf of the whole committee may I thank you for your encouraging support for the Society. Please keep the suggestions for future activities coming in! We look forward to seeing you soon – hopefully at our Winter Meeting in The Glasgow Art Club, 185 Bath Street, Glasgow on Friday, 18th February, 2011!
With every best wish.
Yours sincerely Ronnie Renton (Chairman)
THE NEIL MUNRO SOCIETY
Friday 17th February 2012 at 7.30 p.m.
Glasgow Art Club, 185 Bath Street.
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THE NEIL MUNRO SOCIETY
AGM & ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SATURDAY 12th May 2012
AUTUMN MEETING 2011
Barbreck House, Carnasserie Castle and Killenuair Church
Very many thanks to David Campbell for his kindness in showing us his fascinating house.
The Society were especially delighted to see his two wonderful plaster ceilings which had been beautifully restored by Robert Stewart, our committee member, who sadly passed away last May.
Many congratulations to those who succeeded in reaching Carnasserie and Killenuair where they were rewarded with Steve Boyle's expert and entertaining talks (ably assisted by his family). Thank you all very much indeed.
We would also like to thank the 'Galley of Lorne' Inn for excellent catering arrangements.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS AND SUGGESTIONS.PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW BLOGSPOT:
http://theneilmunrosociety.blogspot.com
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Many congratulations to our member, Allan Y. McDougall, who graduated MPhil in Scottish Literature from Glasgow University this summer.We are delighted that he chose “The Journalism of Neil Munro Fiction, Criticism and Cultural Comment”, examining Neil Munro’s assessment of his peers and his reaction, in writing, to current events. We wish him every success in the future.
Allan's thesis is available online from the following link: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2518/01/2011McdougallMPhil.pdf
THE NEIL MUNRO MEDAL
The Neil Munro Society Medal, which is awarded annually to the top student in Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, was presented on 22nd June 2011.
Congratulations to Laura Buchan.
Society News
LATEST NEWS
The Society is delighted with the the new road signs at the entrances to Inveraray indicating the birthplace of Neil Munro.
Many thanks to Argyll and Bute Council.
A portrait of Neil Munro can now be seen prominently displayed beside the reception desk in the George Hotel in Inveraray.
Many thanks to the George Hotel, Archie Gray and Robert Stewart for all their hard work.
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS
THE POETRY OF NEIL MUNRO by Bob Preston with an introduction by Alan MacGillivray is now available.
This is a new publication which gathers together poems by Neil Munro from a variety of sources thanks to Mr Preston's painstaking research over many years. Also included are several of the tributes which appeared in print after Munro's death in 1930. Full notes about each poem are included making this book an essential tool for students of Munro. The book is published by Kennedy and Boyd and is available to members for £12.50 (including postage within UK).
We are also happy to announce the publication of a reprint of THE CLYDE, RIVER AND FIRTH which includes the 'Hunter' illustrations in monochrome with four of the best reproduced in colour on the cover.
This book as also published by Kennedy and Boyd (Grimsay Press imprint) and is available to members for £12.50 (rrp£14.95)
NOW AVAILABLE
THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND by Neil Munro and published by Kennedy and Boyd
(The editors have resisted the temptation to add a final chapter!)
Other recent publications available to members are:The Brave Days and The Looker-On, George Blake's selections of Neil Munro's Journalism published in the early 1930s.These titles are now available on the Society shop order form at £12.50 per copy.
Fancy Farm, the last of Neil Munro's novels to be put back into print is now available from the Society for £12.50 (rrp£14.95)
Mairi's Wedding, Peter Stickland's newly published innovative novel: a fairytale incorporating passages drawn extensively from the works of Neil Munro. Copies are available from the Neil Munro Society.
PHOTOS FROM RECENT EVENTS
Some photos of the visit to Tarbert can be viewed on: http://vmphoto.photobox.co.uk/album/70861925
Historic Argyll can be viewed on: http://vmphoto.photobox.co.uk/album/29006974
Some photos of the Annual Conference visit to Kenmore and evening events can be viewed on: http://vmphoto.photobox.co.uk/album/29130921
Photos of the Society visit to Duntrune and Dunadd : http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/198407410
Annual conference and Dinner 2009:http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/112477736
Brian Osborne was building up the following weblog during the weeks prior to his death. To view please click on the following link: http://www.briandosborne.wordpress.com/
The A.G.M. Minutes can now be viewed on a separate page - Click on Minutes
Membership is open to all individuals, organisations, and institutions. Subscriptions for 2009 are:
Ordinary Membership £13.00
Unwaged/OAP/Student Membership £10.00
Institutional Membership £16.00There is a £3.00 surcharge for subscriptions paid in non-Sterling funds.
To join the Neil Munro Society or to book an event, contact the Society Secretary at:
Margaret Renton, Secretary
The Neil Munro Society
c/o 4 Randolph Road
GLASGOW G11 7LG
Tel/Fax: 0141 339 5425
e-mail: ronnierenton@googlemail.comCLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE FORM TO JOIN THE SOCIETY OR BOOK AN EVENT
site updated 22nd October 2011