Following the thirtieth anniversary and final Singing Weekend in 2017, The Geordie Hanna Traditional Singing Society approached the Lough Neagh Partnership for support to produce a book dedicated to Geordie’s life and singing and to record the place time and culture he emerged from. In 2019 Martin J McGuinness, a nephew of Geordie was appointed as the books author and in bringing together the research and recollections of Geordie’s family and friends a wonderful book has been produced entitled “Geordie Hanna -The Man and the Songs”. The book collects the songs Geordie was known for singing along with a vivid depiction of his life and his place within the world of Traditional music and the wider culture. The book provides a great source of education for people young and old. It also serves as a commemoration for older generations and recognition for the people of the area no longer living amongst us. It is a source of great pride for the Hanna family and our hope is that it will be enjoyed by the people of the Lough Shore and beyond. We finish with the words of Dr John Moulden which appear on the cover of the book:

“Geordie Hanna was a great man- and a greater singer. Those of us who knew him, knew that. When he sang, he embodied his time, his place and his people… This book, lovingly prepared by his family and friends, and crafted by a skilled writer, shows the life he lived, and will show others the richness that can reside in and flow from an ‘ordinary’ man from a small place. Read it, love it, love its subject; and sing the songs; there are lives and worlds in them.”