William Óge Martyn ( fl. 1566–1592) was the 101st

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. The ...

Early life

Also known as William Óge Martyn fitz Thomas, he was a son of

Thomas Óge Martyn Thomas Óge Martyn, Mayor of Galway, fl. 1533-c. 1577. Early life Martyn was a merchant of Galway and a member of the Martyn (surname), Martyn family, one of the Tribes of Galway. He was the son of former Mayor of Galway, Wylliam Martin. West ...

and Evelina Lynch of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

in 1566 to 1567, he was kidnapped by the

Earl of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, Ki ...

in January 1570 but was free in time to participate at the battle of

Shrule Shrule (, also anglicised to ''Shruel'', usage deprecated) is a village on the N84 road in County Mayo in Ireland. The county boundary between Mayo and County Galway follows the course of the Black River on the south side of the village. The r ...

in April of the same year. He served as

High Sheriff of County Galway The High Sheriff of County Galway was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Galway. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besi ...

and Jailer of

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

Castle during the 1570s and 1580s.

Grace O'Malley

Martyn attempted to capture or kill the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Grace O'Malley Grace O'Malley ( – c. 1603), also known as Gráinne O'Malley ( ga, Gráinne Ní Mháille, ), was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. In Irish folklore she is commonly k ...

at her stronghold of

Rockfleet Castle Rockfleet Castle, or Carrickahowley Castle (Irish: ''Carraig an Chabhlaigh''), is a tower house near Newport in County Mayo, Ireland. It was built in the mid-fifteenth century, and is most famously associated with Grace O'Malley Grace O'M ...

in 1579, but was repulsed.

Execution of the earl's sons

In 1580 he personally hanged, among others, William Burke, third son of the

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde (; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 191 ...

, for rebellion at the gallows outside the walls of Galway, fully aware that the condemned men had been pardoned. The

Annals of Loch Ce Annals ( la, wikt:annales, annāles, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The natur ...

state:

LC1581.16 The Earl of Clann-Rickard's son, i.e. William Burk, went to Gaillimh to make peace with the Foreigners, on the engagement and guarantees of the Mayor, and of the town besides; and there was within before him a perpetrator of injury and destruction upon the Clann-Rickard, i.e. William Og Martin, and two bands of soldiers along with him. And after the Earl's son went in, William Martin and the Saxons acted treacherously towards him; and they apprehended himself; and nine of his people were hanged, and he himself was put in prison, in despite of the mayor, and of the town. And not long after that the Earl's son, and Toirdhelbhach, the son of Donnchadh O'Briain, were hanged; and on Corpus Christi the Earl's son was hanged, and O'Briain's son was hanged on the morrow.

Mayor of Galway

Martyn served as

from September 1586 to September 1587. He participated in a notorious session in December 1586, as recorded in the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

A session was held at Galway in the month of December of this year, and many women and men were put to death at it; and Edmond Oge, the son of Edmond, son of Manus Mac Sheehy, and eight soldiers of the Geraldines along with him, were put to death, information having been given against them that they had been along with those Scots who were slain at Ardnarea.

Later life

William Óge also served as an interlocutor between the O'Flaherty's of

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

and the administration in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

in 1585 and 1586, and again in 1589 and 1590, when they rose in rebellion. He enjoyed a good working relationship with

Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh, anglicised Sir Murrough O'Flaherty (died 1593) was Chief of Iar Connacht, . Ancestry Great-great-great-grandson of Brian na Noinseach, son of Donall na Comthach Ó Flaithbheartaigh (who was, in turn, a g ...

. He was survived by his brother, Francis, sons John and Richard, and was the ancestor of

Edward Martyn Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08. Early life Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira ...

of Tullira Castle (1859–1923).

Notes

* ''Óge'' (Modern Irish ''Óg'') is the Irish term for "the younger" or "junior"; Martyn was so-called to distinguish him from his grandfather,

Wylliam Martin Wylliam Martin ( fl. 1504-1547) was the 34th Mayor of Galway. Martin was a member of one of The Tribes of Galway, and had first served as a town bailiff for the term 1504-1505. He enjoyed two terms as Mayor, 1519–1520, and 1525-1526. He is n ...

, (c. 1480–1547), a former Mayor of Galway.

Footnotes

References

* ''History of Galway'',

James Hardiman James Hardiman (1782–1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1820) and '' Irish Minstrelsy'' (1831), one of the f ...

, 1820. * ''Old Galway'',

Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan Mary Josephine Donovan O'Sullivan was Professor of History at Queens College, Galway (now NUI Galway) from 1914 to 1957. Biography One of ten children, four of whom survived infancy, Donovan was born at Fair Hill Road in Galway on 24 November ...

, 1942. * Henry, William (2002). ''Role of Honour: The Mayors of Galway City 1485–2001''. Galway: Galway City Council. * Martyn, Adrian, ''The Tribes of Galway:1124–1642'', Galway, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martyn, William Oge Year of birth missing 1592 deaths High Sheriffs of County Galway People of Elizabethan Ireland Mayors of Galway Irish soldiers 16th-century Irish politicians