Education
She attended Street Bride"s Primary and Rathmore Grammar School. She has an honours degree in International Relations from the Open University and recently completed a master"s degree in Law at Queen's University Belfast.
She attended Street Bride"s Primary and Rathmore Grammar School. She has an honours degree in International Relations from the Open University and recently completed a master"s degree in Law at Queen's University Belfast.
She is an Modern Language Association for Befast South, replacing Alasdair McDonnell, who stepped down to concentrate on his role as Member of Parliament.
Born in Connemara, County Galway, Hanna has lived in South Belfast since the age of three. Her professional background is in international development, most recently in a policy and education role, and included work in Bangladesh, Haiti and Zambia. Hanna was elected to Belfast City Council, representing the Balmoral ward, from 2011 until her appointment as Modern Language Association, winning re-election in 2014.
During her time in council, she sat on the Strategic Policy & Resources and Town Planning committees as well as the Historic Centenaries Working group.
She brought the motion that led to Belfast becoming the first Living Wage council in Ireland – paying a fair wage to all employees – and introduced measures to combat the rise of predatory pay day lending, as well as leading successful campaigns for the reinstatement of Lisburn Road Post Office in 2013, better traffic management in Finaghy in 2014 and on a variety of issues like improving recycling facilities and sustainable transport. She initiated a campaign to name the new Greenway bridge after playwright and trade unionist Sam Thompson.
In the Assembly, she serves on the Regional Development Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Environment Committee and she chairs the Assembly All Party Groups on International Development and the Arts.
She secured all party agreement to award the Freedom of Belfast to poet Michael Longley.
4th Northern Ireland Assembly]
Hanna was the first member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party to express concern about the decision of Social Democratic and Labour Party Newry councillors to vote to name a playpark after Ireland Republican Army hunger striker Raymond McCreesh.
