1820 Society at the Thomas Muir Symposium … Article by Mary McCabe, of 1820 Society
After a period of depletion the 1820 Society has risen from the ashes. We’re into the 21st century with our website and other systems. Our membership is rising.
As before we have a dual focus: maintaining the memory of the Martyrs of the 1820 Insurrection through the erection of new monuments and the upkeep of existing ones, and also educating the public about parts of Scottish history which have been forgotten about through suppression or neglect.
We’ve extended the geographical spread to cover all Scotland instead of just the Central Belt, and the period of interest right back to the 1780s to include the Calton Weavers’ strike, the Anti-Conscription Riots and Massacres and the 1790 Reformers.
We aim to work more closely with the Friends of Thomas Muir We approached them and they kindly invited representatives of the 1820 Society to run a stall at their annual Symposium. The venue was the new Bishopbriggs Academy: a building which dwarfs many colleges. They provided a table for us (Bill Craig, Sheena Stephen, Christopher Crawford and myself) at the side of the platform between the piano and the buffet. From this very popular location we sold several books and signed up at least three new members.
Bishopbriggs Academy pupils played a full part:
- There was a drama incorporating Thomas Muir, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecroft and a vengeful judge.
- There was a formal debate on the motion that the Scottish Radicals of the 1790s changed the world.
- An 11-year old boy put on a virtuoso piano performance
- And three girls sang traditional Scottish songs.
The programme was varied:
- former Minister for Justice Kenny McAskill spoke about one of the less well-known transported Radicals: George Mealmaker of Dundee. Mealmaker got missed out from the Edinburgh memorial commemorating Muir and his co-accused because of Mealmaker’s working-class background (he was a weaver) and lack of friends in high places. Although I fleetingly mention Mealmaker in my Doors Open Radical Wars talk (and there is a picture of him) I learned far more about him from Kenny’s talk.
- David Kenvyn, retired Librarian with East Dunbartonshire Council took us through an outstandingly detailed account of Muir’s adventures on the journey from Australia to France.
- Other members of the 1820 Society were in attendance – we spotted our former Convener Julie McAnulty in the audience.
At the end of proceedings I borrowed the microphone to invite members of the audience to come to Babbity Bowster on 23rd November at 7pm to hear Alan Dickson perform the songs composed by the Radicals as they languished in jail awaiting the boat which was to take them to Botany Bay. Several people approached our stall afterwards for details of this event.
Altogether it was an event well worth experiencing and hopefully the start of a working relationship with the Friends of Thomas Muir. The Pensioners for Independence website has other blog posts featuring the 1820 Society : browse them here.
- Want to find out more about the 1820 Uprising? Watch / Listen to Tom Dowds of the 1820 Society talking about the Uprising and the Trials here: Part 1 and Part 2
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