Hannay, James Owen (1865-1950)

Irish novelist, born in Belfast, the son of a clergyman, and educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin. Spanish Gold (1908) established him as a novelist of Irish life with a racy humour all his own. Among his other novels are The Major's Niece (1911), Good Conduct (1920), Goodly Pearls (1926), Fed Up (1931), and Good Intentions (1945).

Hannay was ordained in 1889, and spent many years teaching and as a curate in Ireland. He served as chaplain with the British army, and obtained a living in Somerset in 1924 before moving to a London parish in 1934.