Tribes of Galway

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

The Tribes of Galway (Irish: Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) 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, Martin, Morris and Skerritt.[1] Of the 14 families, 12 were of Anglo Norman origin, while two—the Darcy (Ó Dorchaí) and Kirwan (Ó Ciardhubháin) families—were Normanised Irish Gaels.[2]

  1. ^ "Medieval Galway". Galway City Museum. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ O'Sullivan, M.D. (1983). Old Galway: the history of a Norman colony in Ireland (reprint ed.). Kennys Bookshops & Art Galleries. p. 17.