THE story of the Scottish man who bemoaned a government decision to impound three tins of haggis destined for his Burns Night celebration has gone global.
Not since the great Brexit sausage debate in Northern Ireland has a meat-related story garnered so much press.
Retired vet Ian (92), who celebrates his 93rd birthday this week, and his wife Jeannie (76) found themselves being visited by a British news agency photographer last week to record the story of their ‘imprisoned’ haggis pudding.
Ian Stretch missed out on serving Haggis in Bantry on Burns Night after the Scottish national dish was impounded by customs and the Dept of Agriculture in a joint operation. (Photos: Joseph Walshe/SWNS).
The story gathered legs following its front page exposé in The Southern Star, after the retired vet complained that his efforts to import three tins of pudding into Ireland, from a non-EU country, were foiled and the produce was labelled ‘dog food’.
Even The Southern Star’s follow-up on page three – in which a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture clarified that the reference to ‘Food Dog’ on the Customs form meant detection by a ‘sniffer dog,’ and was no way intended as an insult to Scotland’s national dish – made headlines in Ireland and the UK.
The Department’s spokesperson clarified that any meat product which does not go through the correct controls is automatically impounded and destroyed.
Ian’s tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said situations like this could set off a trade war, but he and his wife genuinely missed celebrating Burns Night in the traditional way with some of their Scottish and English friends.
The couple had a discussion as to what the appropriate replacement might be.
They settled on Clonakilty Blackpudding, which they dressed up, or disguised, with ‘neeps and tatties’ and even administered a few steadying drams of whiskey to their savvy guests.
Despite having made headlines in The Scottish Sun, The Daily Record, Ground News and The Irish Sun – to mention but a few – the nonagenarian is undaunted.
But now Ian believes he has a sure-fire way to get haggis for his Burns Night celebration in 2026. He is planning on making his own, having a good relationship with the owner of a local abbatoir!
