Tribes of Galway

The fourteen families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of Galway City from the 1200s to the early 1900s were called the Tribes of Galway. As a result, the city is to this day known as the ""City of the Tribes". The Lynch family, in particular, monopolised the office of mayor over this period.

The families were: Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martyn, Morris and Skerrett.

Descendants of all these families - apart from Athy, Deane, and Font - are still to be found in Co. Galway. In 2000, Angela Lynch became the 84th Lynch to serve as Mayor of Galway since 1485.