Kilkeel: 'Hands up if you're a Hanna' as clan gathers in NI

What's in a name? If you have ever had the misfortune to search through the telephone book for somebody called Hanna in Kilkeel, County Down, you will find nearly 50 entries.

It is thought that the surname is not just among the most common in the Kingdom of Mourne but also right across Northern Ireland.

Such is the connection with the name, and its various versions, that this year's Clan Hannay Gathering took place this week in south Down.

The gathering is usually held in Scotland, where the clan originates, but this year it came to County Down for the first time in a quarter of a century.

As well as a clan banquet, the event included a visit to Hanna's Close, a clachan of traditional houses, which has been in place in Aughnahoory just outside Kilkeel since the 1640s.

Clan historian Keith Hanna is originally from Kilkeel. His Mourne brogue is now altered somewhat from years living in Wales.

"Every year in Scotland at our ancestral castle (Sorbie Tower in Galloway) we have what we call the Gathering where around 100 people from all around the world who are descended from the Hannays - so the Hannas, the Hannahs and the Hanneys - meet for a weekend," he said.

"Once in a while they come over to Northern Ireland because Northern Ireland has the highest concentration of the Hanna surname in the world."

Among those in attendance was clan chief David Hannay.

He explains that his title is "not directly hereditary - it's not an eldest son or anything like that".

"Basically it's a family and the family decide among themselves who will be the next chief.

"Then that's put to the clan's society and, if they accept, then that is fine.

"It's also not till death do us part. You can say: 'I've had enough of this,' and hand it on to someone else."

Another David, but this time with an "H" on the end of his surname, is constable of Sorbie Tower.

He has helped maintain the clan's base for decades and he also is an expert on the clan tartan.

"The blue is from the periwinkle flower and the yellow is from the bloom that grows all over Galloway, the gorse with yellow flowers.

"The black and white give contrast to the blue and yellow. It's the original and official Hannay tartan. There are other versions but this is the official one that's registered."

As well as clan officials, there were Hannas, Hannahs, Hanneys and Hannays present from Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and the US.

Many were there to learn about their family history.

Katie Rowan is from Canada. Her husband Massimo is from Malta and their son Charlie was born in Belgium.

"My grandma's maternal side comes from this [the Mournes] area in general so we have Hannas and lots of other surnames from around here," said Katie.

"We were in touch with the clan genealogist so I had a lot of questions and dead ends in my family tree. He told us about this gathering and I was really excited to go."

For Frank Lawler, also from Canada, the clan gathering was a chance to meet distant relatives from the other side of the world - but with whom he'd had an unlikely connection in his early years.

"Greg Rigby and I were best friends when we were about five years old in Ottawa, Canada," he said.

"But after a few years his parents moved back to Australia. Over the years we kept in touch and Greg married Janine.

"Then around six years ago Janine emailed me and said: 'I think we're related.' And here we are today."

For Janine, the Kilkeel visit represented an opportunity to dig into her family story.

"My great, great, great-grandmother was a Hannay and she came out in the 1840s.

"It was during the famine and I gather times were very hard for the family. But we are still piecing all of that together."

Holly Hanna-Lewis is from Minneapolis in Minnesota. Through the clan she has been able to trace her family story.

"A group of ancestors came to Pennsylvania after being here," she said.

"After some time they came down the Ohio river on a flat boat and they stopped at Kentucky.

"Then he went to Miami [University] of Ohio, found my grandmother, got married and moved up to Minneapolis."

Mark Hanney is from Worcester in England. He says his family history is a criss-cross of these islands.

"My father - both his parents were Hanneys before they married but from different parts of the country - from Swansea in south Wales and one from the Sheffield/Manchester area.

"So we are trying to trace, where did they come from? How did they get there?

"And we think they probably came from Scotland, maybe went to Ireland then came back to England.

"So we are economic migrants following the jobs around."

The clan gathering returns to Scotland next year but it is hoped it will come back to Kilkeel before 2030.