McGonagall Night is a unique IGS event run in celebration of the famous (or, perhaps, infamous) Scottish poet and tragedian William “Topaz” McGonagall – a man sometimes known as the worst poet in history.

McGonagall is famous for composing laughably awkward and unrhythmic poems, and for performing them to audiences who were as interested in pelting him with rotten fruit and vegetables as they were in listening to his attempts at verse. He is particularly associated with his ear-assaulting lament on the Tay Bridge Disaster of 1879:

“Oh! Ill-fated bridge of the silv’ry Tay,
I now must conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.”

This is, by a long margin, not his worst poem.

Our McGonagall Night event involves professional readings of the poet’s best-known works, and an interactive RPG-based presentation on his life and many (dubious) accomplishments. We crown the night with a reverse address to the haggis and a virtual piper to greet guests as they leave.

For our 2025 McGonagall Night event, we also ran a Best Bad Poetry Competition in honour of McGonagall and his contribution to poetry. You can learn more and read the winning poem here.

We’ve run this event once so far, at the Beehive Inn in Edinburgh on the 20^th April, 2025. Here’s a report on how it went!