Thomas Óge Martyn,

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. Th ...

, fl. 1533-c. 1577.

Early life

Martyn was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and a member of the Martyn family, one of the

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () 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, Brown ...

. He was the son of former

, Wylliam Martin.

West Bridge and Mills

In 1558 he obtained a grant from Queen Mary to build a mill on the west side of the Corrib river, on condition that he build a new stone bridge defended with gates and battlements. Old-Galway

It was completed in 1562 and bore a plaque declaring that Thomas Óge and his wife Evelina Lynch ''"caused this bridge and mill to be made"''. The bridge and mills was demolished c. 1800 and rebuilt as the Bridge Mills by the Murphy family. The rebuilt bridge is now called O'Brien's Bridge.

Later life and descendants

Thomas Óge served as

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

of Galway from September 1533 to September 1534, and served twice as

for the terms 1549–1550, and 1562–1563. He served as a

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

of Galway from 1550 to 1577, after which he disappears from the town records. He was the father of William Óge Martyn and Francis Martin, both of whom were later Mayors of Galway. Via William Óge, Thomas Óge is believed to be an ancestor of Richard "Humanity Dick" Martin (1754–1834),

Harriet Letitia Martin Harriet Letitia Martin was a 19th-century Irish novelist. Biography Harriet Letitia Martin was born in London in 1801. She was the daughter of the novelist and stage-critic Harriet Evans Martin, and Richard Martin MP, a prominent member of t ...

(1801–91)

Mary Letitia Martin Mary Letitia Martin (1815–1850) was an Irish writer who was known as the "Princess of Connemara". Educated at home in the upper-class style, she was fluent in numerous languages. She published two books in her lifetime, and a third was published ...

(1815–50) and

D'Arcy Argue Counsell Martin D'Arcy Argue Counsell Martin (October 23, 1898 – June 7, 1992) was a Canadian lawyer and political figure. He represented Hamilton West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1931 to 1934 as a Conservative member. Martin served on Hamil ...

(1899–1992).

Notes

*''Óge'' is the Irish term for ''the younger'' or ''junior''. Martyn was so-called to distinguish him from his grandfather, Thomas Martin, murdered sometime before May 1520.

References

* ''History of Galway'',

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...

, 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 (2016). ''The Tribes of Galway: 1124-1642''

External links