Hannay

The Hannays hail from the ancient princedom of Galloway. The original spelling of the name appears to have been ‘Ahannay’, and although its origin is uncertain, it may derive from the Gaelic ‘O’Hannaidh’, or ‘Ap Shenaeigh’.

Gilbert de Hannethe appears on the Ragman Roll among the Scottish Barons submitting to Edward I of England in 1296. This may be the same Gilbert who acquired the lands of Sorbie. The Hannays were suspicious of the ambitions of the Bruces, and supported the claim of John Balliol who, through his mother, Lady Devorgilla, was descended from the Celtic Princes of Galloway. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries they extended their influence over much of the surrounding countryside, building a tower on their lands at Sorbie around 1550. The tower was the seat of the chief family of this name until the seventeenth century, when it fell into disrepair after the family were outlawed. In 1965 the tower was presented to a clan trust, and a maintenance scheme was put in hand.

There were many distinguished scions of the chiefly house, including Patrick Hannay, the distinguished soldier and poet whose literature, once highly regarded, is now almost forgotten. The grandson of Donald Hannay of Sorbie, he entered the service of Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of James VI and sister of Charles I, who became his patron. In 1619, Hannay published two eulogies on the death of Queen Anne, wife of James VI, and on his own death many eulogies were published. The best of these expresses the high regard with which Patrick and his kin were held:

Also from the house of Sorbie came James Hannay, the Dean of St Giles’ in Edinburgh, who has passed into legend as the minister who attempted to read the new liturgy in St Giles’ in July 1637. It was at Dean Hannay’s head that Jenny Geddes flung her stool crying, ‘Thou false thief, dost thou say Mass at my lug?’ A full scale riot ensued, which ultimately had to be suppressed by the town guard. In 1630, Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. Other branches descended from Sorbie include the Hannays of Grennan, Knock, Garrie and Kingsmuir. At the beginning of the seventeenth century the Hannays of Sorbie became locked in a deadly feud with the Murrays of Broughton, which ended in the Hannays’ being outlawed and ruined. The lands and tower of Sorbie were lost around 1640. One consequence of the family’s being outlawed was the emigration of large numbers of Hannays to Ulster, where the name is still found widely in Counties Antrim, Down and Armagh. The Hannays of Newry are reckoned to be the senior branch of the emigrant families.

In 1582, Alexander Hannay, a younger son of Sorbie, purchased the lands of Kirkdale in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. His son, John Hannay of Kirkdale, inherited the estate and established the line which is now recognised by the Lord Lyon as chief of the name. Alexander Hannay, a younger son of Kirkdale, was a professional soldier who served in India, where he rose to the rank of colonel. His eldest brother, Sir Samuel Hannay of Kirkdale, succeeded to the title and estates of his kinsman, Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum, Baronet. The next baronet, Sir Samuel Hannay, entered the service of the Hapsburg Emperors, and prospered sufficiently to build for himself a grand mansion on his family lands. The house is said to have provided the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Guy Mannering. Sir Samuel died in 1841 and the baronetcy became dormant. The estate of Kirkdale and the representation of the family passed to Sir Samuel’s sister, Mary, and on her death in 1850 to her nephew, William Rainsford Hannay. The present chief, who was recognised as Hannay of Kirkdale and of that Ilk in 1983, is his descendant