Tribes of Galway
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
The Tribes of Galway (Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were fourteen merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late-19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerrett. They were of mixed origins, variously Norman, Hiberno-Norman, Gaelic-Irish, French, Welsh and English, or some combination of the above.
Contents
History
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
The Tribes were merchant families who prospered from trade with continental Europe. They dominated Galway's municipal government during the medieval and early modern eras.
The Tribes distinguished themselves from the Gaelic peoples who lived in the hinterland of the city. However the feared suppression of their common faith joined both sides together as Irish Catholics after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 (indeed for many Irish was a second or even first language). During the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), Galway took the side of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland, and as a result the Tribes were punished following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town was besieged and after the surrender of Galway in April 1652, the Tribes had to face the confiscation of their property by the New Model Army.
The Tribes lost much of their power within Galway city after English Parliamentarians took over the Galway Corporation in 1654. Because of the uncertain response to this dilemma by the merchant families, Cromwell's forces referred to them by the derogatory name, "The Tribes of Galway", which they themselves later adopted as a mark of defiance.
Galway's urban elite enjoyed a measure of their power restored during the reign of the King Charles II (1660–1685) and his successor James II. However, Jacobite defeat in the War of the Two Kings (1689–91), marked the end of the Tribes' once overwhelming political influence on the life of the city – which passed to its small Protestant population. Garrison members of the tribes who owned land in Galway and Mayo were protected by the advantageous surrender provisions that were signed on 22 July 1691.
Notable members of the Tribes
Athy
- Margaret Athy, fl. 1508, founder of the Augustinian Friary of Forthill.
Blake
- John Blake fitz William, third Mayor of Galway, 1487–1488.
- Captain James "Spanish" Blake, fl. 1588–1635, spy and purported assassin of Red Hugh O'Donnell
- Joaquín Blake y Joyes, 1759–1827, Spanish military officer who served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Peninsular wars.
- Sally Blake, landowner and duelist, 1774–1870.
Bodkin
- John Bodkin fitz Richard, Mayor of Galway, 1518–19.
- Dominick Dáll Bodkin, mass murderer, executed 8 October 1740.
- John Bodkin, Roman Catholic Warden of Galway, died 1710. After his death, his body was said to have been the subject of a miracle because it was thought to have not decayed.
- Leo Bodkin, (1879– 30 August 1919) was a British military officer and writer
- Michael Bodkin (c.1888–1900), inspiration for Michael Furey in James Joyce's short story "The Dead"
Browne
- Geoffrey Browne, Irish Confederate lawyer and politician, died 14 January 1668
- Mary Bonaventure Browne, Poor Clare and historian, born after 1610, died after 1670
- Garech Browne, born 1939, patron of Irish arts and one-time manager of The Chieftains
D'Arcy
- James Riabhach D'Arcy, Mayor of Galway, 1602–1603.
- Patrick D'Arcy, 1598–1668, Catholic Confederate and lawyer who wrote the constitution of Confederate Ireland.
- Count Patrick D'Arcy, 1725–1779, mathematician and soldier
Deane
- Edmond Deane, 18th Mayor of Galway, 1502–1504
Font (ffont)
- Geoffrey Font, centenarian, 1709–1814
French (ffrench)
- Christopher French, Theologian, fl. c. 1650-c.1713
- Sir Oliver Óge French, Irish nationalist, died 1666
- Seán an tSalainn French, 1489–1546, was Mayor of Galway from 1538 to 1539
- Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, artist and secret agent, 1893–1986
Joyce
- Henry Joyce, Mayor of Galway, 1542–1543
- Richard Joyce, c. 1660 – c. 1737, creator of the Claddagh Ring
- William Joyce, aka Lord Haw-Haw, fascist and Nazi, 1906–1946
- James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) novelist and poet
- Patrick Weston Joyce (1827 – November 1914) historian, writer and music collector
Kirwan
- Dominick Kirwin, Irish Confederate, fl. 1642–1653?
- Joseph W. Kirwan, 1796–1849, first president of Queen's College, Galway
- Magdalen Kirwan, c.1830–1906, Sister of Mercy and manager of Goldenbridge penal refuge
- Richard Kirwan (1733–1812), president of the Royal Irish Academy
- Risteárd Buidhe Kirwan, soldier and duellist, 1708–1779
- Sarah Annette Kirwan, d. 1913, first wife of Sir Edward Carson, Ulster Unionist leader
Lynch
- Anthony Lynch, slave, c. 1576-after 1636
- Christopher Lynch, Mayor of Galway, fl. 1601–1604
- Dominick Dubh Lynch, died 14 August 1508, second Mayor of Galway
- Germyn Lynch, fl. 1441 – 1483, merchant and entrepreneur
- Isidore Lynch (1755–1841), soldier
- Jean-Baptiste Lynch (1749–1835), Mayor of Bordeaux and a peer of France
- John Lynch, 1599?–1677?, historian and Archdeacon of Tuam
- Maire Lynch, Countess of Clanricarde, fl. 1547
- Thomas Kerr Lynch, explorer, 1818–91
Martin
- Edward Martyn, 1859–1923, political and cultural activist
- Mary Letitia Martin, 1815–1850, writer.
- Richard Martin (1754–1834) was a long-time advocate of Catholic Emancipation and a founder of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
- Richard Óge Martyn, c. 1602–1648, member of the Catholic Confederates of Ireland
- Major Peter Martyn, 1772–1827, soldier
- William Óge Martyn, Sheriff and Mayor of Galway, fl. 1566–1592
Morris
- Andrew Morris, Mayor of Galway, 1588–1589
- Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. George Henry Morris, 1872–1914, commanding officer of the Irish Guards
- Lord Killanin (1914–99), sixth president of the International Olympic Committee 1972–80, was a descendant of the Morris tribe. His sons are the filmmaker, George Redmond ("Red") Morris, and horsetrainer, Mouse Morris.
- Mouse Morris, born 1951, racehorse trainer and former jockey
Skerrett
- John Skerrett, Preacher and Missionary, c.1620-c.1688
- Nicholas Skerrett, died 1583, Archbishop of Tuam
Nickname
Like all Irish counties Galway has a nickname. The nickname the tribesmen is now used for the county and its people and is derived from this term.
Roundabouts
The tribes also lend their names to fourteen of the city's roundabouts located in or around the city's boundaries. The roundabouts are signposted on navy blue signs containing the tribe's name in the Irish language
External links
- http://sources.nli.ie/Record/MS_UR_006641
- http://www.galway-ireland.ie/galway-tribes.htm
- http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-list.jsp
- http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=115
- http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=1013
- http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=108
- http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=821
- http://www.frenchfamilyassoc.com/FFA/CHARTSWEB/indexIreland.htm#_Introduction
- http://www.martinhistory.net/
- http://element64.com/galway_roundabouts.htm
- http://www.galwaynews.ie/22277-descendants-14-tribes-come-galway-celebrations
- http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/irishrootscafe/traits-of-the-irish-tribes--families-of-co-galway-93072924.html
References
- History of Galway, James Hardiman, Galway, 1820.
- Old Galway, Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan, 1942.
- The Tribes of Galway, Adrian James Martyn, Galway, 2001.
- Role of Honour:The Mayors of Galway City 1485–2001, by William Henry, Galway, 2002. ISBN 0-906312-50-7
