Daniel Cairns, Provost of Kilmarnock

Andrew Law painted 11 of Kilmarnock's provosts.   Cairns was a native of Kilmarnock. He joined the Town Council as a Labour member in 1931, and served continuously until his retirement in 1974. His main public interests were in health and social welfare. This led him to work on committees as diverse as the Ayrshire River Purification Board and Kilmarnock Public Library Committee. He had two terms as Provost and was the first labour member to hold the office - 1946-50 and 1956-59. The climax of his municipal career came in 1964 when he was made a freeman of the Burgh in recognition of his public service. Many spheres of public activity other than local politics engaged his attention. For many years he served on the management of Kilmarnock Co-operative Society and in the church he was a lay preacher, organist, choirmaster and Sunday-school teacher.   Possessing so many public interests left him little time for recreational activities. He enjoyed bowling however, and had an abiding passion for football, particularly as a supporter of Kilmarnock Football Club. Once he actually played football for Scotland against England at "welfare" level.