Tribes of Galway-The Daily Ledger

The Tribes of Galway () were 14 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, Darcy/D’Arcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martyn, Morris and Skerritt. Of the 14 families, 12 were of Anglo Norman origin, while two—the Darcy (Ó Dorchaidhe) and Kirwan (Ó Ciardhubháin) families—were Normanised Irish Gaels.

History

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.

Tribes of Galway

The Tribes distinguished themselves from the Gaelic peoples who lived in the hinterland of the city. Many of these families spoke Irish as a second or even first language. However, the feared suppression of their common faith joined both groups together as Irish Catholics after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. During the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), Galway took the side of the Confederate Catholics. Following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, the English government punished the Tribes. Galway was besieged and after it surrendered in April 1652, the Tribes had to face the confiscation of their property by the New Model Army.

Tribes of Galway

The Tribes lost much of their power within Galway city after English Parliamentarians took over the Galway Corporation in 1654. Cromwell's forces referred to them by the derogatory name, "The Tribes of Galway", which the families later adopted as a mark of defiance.

Tribes of Galway

Galway's urban elite gained a restoration of some of their power 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. Power passed to the 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

Athy

John Athy (fl. 1426-1438), Sovereign of Galway

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

Bodkin

John Bodkin fitz Richard, Mayor of Galway, 1518–19

Dominick Dáll Bodkin, mass murderer, executed 8 October 1740

Manuel Antonio Flórez Maldonado Martínez Ángulo y Bodquín, admiral in the Spanish navy and viceroy of New Granada (1776–1781) and New Spain (1787–1789) John Bodkin (died 1710), Roman Catholic Warden of Galway. After his death, his body was said to have been the subject of a miracle because it was thought to have not decayed Michael Bodkin (c. 1888–1900), inspiration for Michael Furey in James Joyce's short story "The Dead"

Browne

Geoffrey Browne (died 1668), Irish Confederate lawyer and politician

Mary Bonaventure Browne (before 1610 – after 1670), Poor Clare and historian, John Browne, 1st Marquess of Sligo Garech Browne (1939–2018), patron of Irish arts and one-time manager of The Chieftains

Darcy/D’Arcy (Ó Dorchaidhe) James Riabhach Darcy, Mayor of Galway, 1602–1603 Patrick Darcy (1598–1668), Catholic Confederate and lawyer who wrote the constitution of Confederate Ireland Patrick Darcy (1725–1779), mathematician and soldier

Deane

Edmond Deane, 18th Mayor of Galway, 1502–1504

Font (ffont) Geoffrey Font (1709–1814), centenarian

French (ffrench) Christopher French, (fl. c. 1650–c.1713), theologian Seán an tSalainn French (1489–1546), Mayor of Galway, 1538–1539 Arthur French, 1st Baron de Freyne Patricio French (b. 1742–?) Spanish nobleman, merchant and politician Conrad O'Brien-ffrench (1893–1986), artist and secret agent