Welcome to the second part of our look at the lives and achievements of some of Ayrshire most famous men and women.

And this week, we look at the lives of Robert the Bruce, Andrew O'Hagan, Gallagher and Lyle, James Boswell, John Lapraik and Charles Kerr Marr.

(Image: Contributed)

King Robert the Bruce

Although Lochmaben in Dumfriesshire also makes the claim, it is widely believed that Scotland’s most famous king was born at Turnberry Castle.

His mother was the Countess of Carrick and, the story goes, she practically kidnapped his father and conceived the future king.

Ambitious and ruthless, the Bruce politicked and hacked his way to the throne, famously slaying the Red Comyn in Dumfries. He was branded outlaw by the English and was a hunted man, supposedly hiding on Arran where, according to legend, he was inspired by a hard-working spider to try and try again.

He was crowned in 1306 and at Loudoun Hill, close to Darvel in East Ayrshire, he scored a notable victory over the English in 1307.

However, it was at Bannockburn in 1314 that he finally succeeded in sending the forces of Edward the Second home to think again. Robert the Bruce died, perhaps from leprosy, at Cardross in 1307.

(Image: Contributed)

Andrew O’Hagan

Award-winning writer Andrew O’Hagan grew up in Kilwinning and has since emerged as one of the country’s most recognised authors.

In 1995 Andrew published his first book, The Missing, which went on to be filmed as a Channel 4 drama-documentary and was nominated for a BAFTA.

He credits his time at St Michael’s Academy in the early 1980s as an important inspiration behind his writing, which he built upon during his studies at Strathclyde University.

A Booker prize nominee, his 2020 novel Mayflies became a successful two part TV show. He is patron of North Ayrshire’s Tidelines book festival.

(Image: Contributed)

Gallagher and Lyle

Largs songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle will always hold a special place in the affections of music fans.

In 1970, they joined McGuinness Flint and penned Top 10 hit singles ‘When I’m Dead and Gone’ and ‘Malt and Barley Blues’.

They formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972, but it was not until their fifth album, ‘Breakaway’, in 1976, that they enjoyed further Top 10 hits ‘Heart on My Sleeve’ and ‘I Wanna Stay with You’.

Graham later wrote ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It?’ for Tina Turner, and ‘Just Good Friends’ for Michael Jackson.

Benny meanwhile spent nine years as a founding director and the first chairman of the Performing Artists Media Rights Association.

(Image: Contributed)

James Boswell

Boswell is one of literature’s great “sidekicks”. He was born near St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1740 but inherited his father’s Auchinleck estate.

Trained as a lawyer, in 1773, Boswell enticed his English friend Samuel Johnson to accompany him on a tour through the Highlands and Western Isles.

The acerbic Johnson was then in his mid-60s and well-known for his literary works and his Dictionary. After Johnson’s death in 1784, Boswell published his Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, based on a diary Boswell had kept and included detailed descriptions of where he and Johnson had gone and what Johnson had said.

Boswell, who died in London in 1795, spent his final years writing his Life Of Johnson.

(Image: Contributed)

John Lapraik

John Lapraik was born three miles to the west of Muirkirk and, on the death of his father, succeeded to the family estate.

He was a friend of Robert Burns, Scotland’s most famous bard who wrote a total of three “Epistles” to John Lapraik (“an old Scottish bard”) which are well known.

Lapraik attempted to emulate Burns by publishing a book of his poems, but never enjoyed any commercial success.

He had a long and eventful life, fathering 12 children. He started as a relatively wealthy farmer and then lost his money in a bank crash and enduring a spell in a debtor’s prison. On May 7, 1807, John Lapraik died aged 80-years-old. He was buried at Kirkgreen Church, Muirkirk.

(Image: Contributed)

Charles Kerr Marr

Charles Kerr Marr was born in 1855 in Troon’s Welbeck Crescent.

He attended the Parish School in Academy Street until he was 10, when he and his brothers went to Irvine Royal Academy. After leaving school he became an apprentice at Troon Harbour before getting a job at a Glasgow iron merchants.

He later began working as a partner with a London shipping company, developing the export trade which allowed him to travel abroad and collect art treasures from China and Japan. He died in 1919 from acute appendicitis.

Marr’s will offered a considerable amount to Troon - the building of a state-of-the-art secondary school. Marr College was finally opened in September 1935 and is still going strong today.

Look out for more of Ayrshire's heroes next weekend.