Extracts about Athenry and the Tribes of Galway by Ronan Killeen

The Tribes and Other Galway Families by T. P. O'Neill re-launched by Galway Civic Trust.

A few weeks back Galway Civic Trust re-launched T. P. O'Neill's book The Tribes and Other Galway Families. Having a read through myself I discovered a few mentions on Athenry. Usually this blog doesn't head to the medieval era but first time for everything too.


1. Bodkin - The Bodkin Family name was closely associated with Athenry from the late Middle Ages. In
1384 Nicholas, son of Thomas Bodkin, took a mortgage of three acres of Burgage lands at Athenry from Stevyn. During the following century Edmund Bodkyn, in 1444, Robert Bodkyn, 1449, and Walter Bodkyn, in 1451 were Provosts of that town. The Bodkin coat of arms is taken from their ancestors, the Geraldines of Desmond.

2. Browne - Andrew Browne of Athenry was admitted as a freeman, the family was soon to reach an eminent position among the merchants. Andrew became a baliff of the city in 1552 and in 1574 was elected Mayor.

3. Skerret - Walter Husgard (a variation of Skerret) and his wife, Joanne, built the cloisters in the Dominican Priory at Athenry


Other surnames in the book include Athy, Blake, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwin, Lynch, Martin,Morris. Then there are other families of Galway such as Burke, Eyre, Madden, O'Daly, O'Fahy, O'Flaherty, O'Kelly, and O' Shaughnessy.

The Tribes and Other Galway Families by T. P. O'Neill you can now get in The Hall of the Red Earl, Druid Lane, Galway City for €5 the same in Charlie Byrnes bookshop Galway City.