The Hanna Hats story begins with it’s founder, David Hanna Snr. He was born in Belfast in 1905. He finished school at age 16 and he saw an advertisement for an apprentice tailor in Donegal Town.
So, David cycled from Belfast to Donegal to interview for the job. The tailor was named McDaid and he died one year after David began working for him. McDaid’s sons had no interest in tailoring, and so David Hanna Snr took over the business in 1924.
In 1964 David recognised a decline in demand for tailored suits and so began handcrafting bespoke headwear. His first hat took four and a half hours to make, and was given the name ‘Hanna Hat’, style no. 84. And so the story of Hanna Hats began with the business now starting to specialise in the design and production of handcrafted hats and caps.
In 1974 David’s sons began managing the family business, ensuring the tradition and quality of their father’s work was retained. In 1986 John Hanna took over David Hanna & Sons which became Hanna Hats of Donegal Ltd. John continued creating innovative tweed products using the traditions passed on from his father. At the heart of everything he created was quality and craftsmanship.
Now a proud a third generation family business, John’s children carry their father and grandfather’s vision. They have supplied the world with handcrafted tweed headwear of the highest quality and craftsmanship.
They take pride in the fact that all of their products are their own original designs and each one is assembled by hand in their factory in Donegal by an incredible team of skilled cutters and machinists. The natural fabrics used throughout the collections reflect the soft and muted shades of the rich Donegal landscape. Their products are designed to be worn by all ages, all sizes and all genders.
“We are confident that as long as people have heads, they will wear a Hanna Hat”.
See for yourself the full selection of products available available to purchase from Hanna Hats here or give them a call on 074 97 21084.
Each product is handmade to order, steeped in history and heritage, each creation is ‘a little piece of luxury from Donegal’ – John Joseph Hanna (1944 – 2019)
