Clan Hannay is a Lowland

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...

). Published in 1994. Pages 162 - 163.

History

Origins of the clan

The Hannays are from the ancient princedom of

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

. The name appears to have originally been spelt ''Ahannay'' but its origin is uncertain. It could derive from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

Ultimately

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

''O'Hannaidh'' or ''Ap Shenaeigh''.

Wars of Scottish Independence

In 1296 Gilbert de Hannethe appears on the

Ragman Rolls Ragman Rolls are the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favour of Balliol ...

submitting to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

. This could be the same Gilbert who acquired the lands of Sorbie. The Hannays were suspicious of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

's ambitions and instead supported the claim of

John Balliol John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

. Balliol was descended from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Princes of Galloway through his mother, Lady Devorgilla.

15th & 16th centuries

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Hannays extended their influence over the surrounding area including the building of

Sorbie Tower Sorbie Tower is a fortified tower house 1 mile east of the village of Sorbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The ancient seat of the Clan Hannay, it is in an L-shaped format, rubble-built in the late sixteenth century, possibly by Patrick Hanna ...

which remained the seat of the Clan Chief until the seventeenth century.

17th century

At the beginning of the 17th century the Clan Hannay was locked in a deadly feud with the

Clan Murray Clan Murray () is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants ...

of Broughton. It resulted in the Hannays being outlawed. The consequences of this were that many Hannays emigrated to

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, where the name is still found in large numbers in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

and

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

Patrick Hannay Patrick Hannay (died 1630?) was a Scottish poet and courtier. Life He was probably the third son of Alexander Hannay of Kirkdale in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The Hannay family seat is Sorbie Tower in Wigtownshire. Early in the reign of J ...

had a distinguished military career and was patronised by Queen

Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 159613 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted for just one winter, she is called the Win ...

, daughter of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

and sister of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

. After the death of Queen Anne who was the wife of James VI in 1619 Patrick Hannay composed two eulogies and in return had many published on his own death, one of which said: 'Go on in virtue, aftertimes will tell, none but Hannay could have done so well'. Possibly the best known Hannay was James Hannay, the Dean of St Giles' in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

who had the claim to fame of being the target of

Jenny Geddes Janet "Jenny" Geddes (c. 1600 – c. 1660) was a Scottish market-trader in Edinburgh who is alleged to have thrown a stool at the head of the minister in St Giles' Cathedral in objection to the first public use of the Church of Scotland ...

' stool. In an infamous incident in 1637 the Dean had begun to read the new liturgy when with a cry of "Thou false thief, dost thou say Mass at my lug?" was heard and a stool came flying from the congregation, thrown by an incensed Jenny Geddes. The incident began a full-scale riot which took the town guard to control. Sir Robert Hannay of

Mochrum Mochrum () is a coastal civil and Church of Scotland parish situated to the east of Luce Bay on the Machars peninsula and southwest of Wigtown and in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway, Scotland. It covers and is approximately ...

was created a Baronet of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

In 1630. From the Sorbie roots the Hannays of Grennan, Knock, Garrie and Kingsmuir also evolved.

The modern Clan Hannay

In 1582, Alexander Hannay, a younger son of the chief, Hannay of Sorbie, purchased the lands of Kirkdale which were in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. His son was John Hannay of Kirkdale, who established the line which is today recognised by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

as the chief of the name and arms of Hannay. A younger son of Hannay of Kirkdale was

Alexander Hannay Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

who was a professional soldier, administrator and adventurer, who amassed a substantial personal fortune in 18th Century

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, rising to the rank of colonel. His elder brother was Sir Samuel Hannay of Kirkdale, who succeeded to the title and estates of his kinsman, Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum, Baront. The next Baronet was Sir Samuel Hannay, who entered the service of the Habsburg Emperors and built himself a mansion on his family lands. It is this mansion which is said to have provided the inspiration for

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

's novel, ''

Guy Mannering ''Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer'' is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, ...

''. Sir Samuel died in 1841 and the estate passed to his sister, Mary, and from her to her nephew, William Ransford Hannay, from whom the present chief is descended.

Clan Chief

Clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...

: Chief Ramsay William Rainsford Hannay died on 10 January 2004 at Gatehouse-of-Fleet, Scotland, and was succeeded by his son, Dr. David R. Hannay.

Clan castles

In 1965 the ancient clan seat,

, was presented to the clan trust and a maintenance scheme was put in place.

External links

http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/htol/hannay2.html

Clan Hannay ScotClans

The Clan Hannay Society

References

{{Scottish clans Hannay