Tribes of Galway

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A display of the 14 tribal flags in Eyre Square, Galway

The Tribes of Galway (

Irish Gaels.[1]

History

See also: History of Galway

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.[2]

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.

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.[3]

Galway's urban elite gained a restoration of some of their power during the reign of 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

Blake

  • John Blake fitz William, third Mayor of Galway, 1487–1488
  • Captain
    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

Browne

Darcy/D’Arcy (Ó Dorchaidhe)

Deane

Font (ffont)

French (ffrench)

Joyce

Kirwan (Ó Ciardhubháin)

Lynch

Martin (Ó Máirtín)

Morris

Skerrett

Modern use

Similar to the nicknames used for other Irish counties, Galway city and county and its people are known as the tribesmen. This nickname is derived from this term.[5]

The tribes also lend their names to 14 of the roundabouts in or around the boundaries of Galway city. The roundabouts are signposted on navy blue signs containing the tribe's name in the Irish language.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ O'Sullivan, M.D. (1983). Old Galway: the history of a Norman colony in Ireland (reprint ed.). Kennys Bookshops & Art Galleries. p. 17.
  2. ISBN 978-0906312216
    .
  3. ^ Hardiman, James (1820). The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway. Dublin: W. Folds and Sons. pp. 6–7.
  4. ^ "Sir Laurence Kirwan". The Guardian. 21 April 1999. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  5. ISBN 9781740595773
    .
  6. ^ "Galway, the city of tribes and developers". The Irish Times. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2023.

Bibliography

External links
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