Clan Hannay | |||
---|---|---|---|
Motto | Per Ardua Ad Alta (Through difficulties to Heaven) [1] [2] | ||
Profile | |||
Plant badge | Periwinkle | ||
Chief | |||
Dr. David R. Hannay | |||
Chief of the Name and Arms of Hannay | |||
Historic seat | Sorbie Tower | ||
| |||
| |||
|
Clan Hannay is a Lowland Scottish clan. [1]
The Hannays are from the ancient princedom of Galloway. [1] The name appears to have originally been spelt Ahannay but its origin is uncertain. [1] It could derive from the Scottish Gaelic Ultimately Irish Gaelic O'Hannaidh or Ap Shenaeigh. [1]
In 1296 Gilbert de Hannethe appears on the Ragman Rolls submitting to Edward I of England. [1] This could be the same Gilbert who acquired the lands of Sorbie. [1] The Hannays were suspicious of Robert the Bruce's ambitions and instead supported the claim of John Balliol. [1] Balliol was descended from the Celtic Princes of Galloway through his mother, Lady Devorgilla. [1]
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Hannays extended their influence over the surrounding area including the building of Sorbie Tower which remained the seat of the Clan Chief until the seventeenth century. [1]
At the beginning of the 17th century the Clan Hannay was locked in a deadly feud with the Clan Murray of Broughton. [1] It resulted in the Hannays being outlawed. [1] The consequences of this were that many Hannays emigrated to Ulster, where the name is still found in large numbers in County Antrim, County Down and County Armagh. [1]
Patrick Hannay had a distinguished military career and was patronised by Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of James VI of Scotland and sister of Charles I of England. [1] 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'. [1]
Possibly the best known Hannay was James Hannay, the Dean of St Giles' in Edinburgh who had the claim to fame of being the target of Jenny Geddes' stool. [1] 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. [1]
Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia In 1630. [1] From the Sorbie roots the Hannays of Grennan, Knock, Garrie and Kingsmuir also evolved. [1]
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. [1] His son was John Hannay of Kirkdale, who established the line which is today recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as the chief of the name and arms of Hannay. [1]
A younger son of Hannay of Kirkdale was Alexander Hannay who was a professional soldier, administrator and adventurer, who amassed a substantial personal fortune in 18th Century India, rising to the rank of colonel. [1] 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. [1] The next Baronet was Sir Samuel Hannay, who entered the service of the Habsburg Emperors and built himself a mansion on his family lands. [1] It is this mansion which is said to have provided the inspiration for Walter Scott's novel, Guy Mannering . [1] 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. [1]
Clan chief: 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.
In 1965 the ancient clan seat, Sorbie Tower, was presented to the clan trust and a maintenance scheme was put in place. [1]
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-west Scotland. It is popularly known as and referred to as The Shire. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. As a lieutenancy area, Wigtownshire has its own Lord Lieutenant, currently John Alexander Ross. In the 19th century, it was also called West Galloway. The county town was historically Wigtown, with the administrative centre moving to Stranraer, the largest town, on the creation of a county council in 1890.
Clan Fergusson is a Scottish clan. Known as the Sons of Fergus they have spread across Scotland from as far as Ross-shire in the north to Dumfriesshire in the south.
Port William is a fishing village in the parish of Mochrum in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland with a population of approximately 460.
Clan Agnew is a Scottish clan from Galloway in the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Macnaghten is a Scottish clan.
Clan Armstrong is a Lowland Scottish clan of the Scottish Borders. The clan does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms and therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.
Dervorguilla of Galloway was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century Scotland, the wife from 1223 of John, 5th Baron de Balliol, and mother of John I, a future king of Scotland.
Clan MacCulloch is a Lowland Scottish clan. As it no longer has a Clan chief, Clan MacCulloch is an Armigerous clan.
The Clan MacLellan is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.
Clan Darroch is a Scottish clan. The current Chief of the Name and Arms of Darroch as recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms is descended from the Darrochs of Jura.
Clan Dunbar is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan MacDowall is a Lowlands Scottish clan.
Clan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan. The Clan was originally located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands during the 12th century. The clan supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, but later supported the Lord of the Isles in opposition to the Scottish Crown. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with some supporting the Jacobites and others not taking part in the rebellion.
Clan Matheson is a Highland Scottish clan.
Sorbie is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland.
Clan MacEwen or Clan MacEwan is a Scottish clan recorded in the fifteenth century as Clan Ewen of Otter.
Clan Kirkpatrick is a Lowland armigerous Scottish clan. There are several variations of the Kirkpatrick name: Kilpatric, Kilpatrick, and Gilpatrick. The names Kirkpatrick and Kilpatrick may have been interchangeable at one time. The clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, however the clan does not currently have a chief so recognised. The surname Kirkpatrick is also a recognized sept of Clan Douglas and Clan Colquhoun.
Clan Mackie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms therefore the clan has no standing under Scots Law. Clan Mackie is considered an armigerous clan, meaning that it is considered to have had at one time a recognised chief, or a chief who possessed the chiefly arms of the name; however, no one at present is in possession of such arms.
The Hannay Baronetcy, of Mochrum in the Stewardry of Kirkcudbright, was a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 31 March 1630 for Robert Hannay. The title became dormant on the death of the second Baronet in 1689. The title was claimed in 1783 by Samuel Hannay, the third Baronet. He sat as Member of Parliament for Camelford. His son, the fourth Baronet, was in the service of the Emperor of Austria. He was unmarried and the baronetcy again became dormant on his death in 1842.
James Hannay was a Scottish clergyman who served as Dean of St Giles Cathedral. He is best remembered as the unfortunate clergyman struck on the head by a stool thrown by Jenny Geddes after reading from the English Book of Common Prayer.