name from the territory in which they were situate, and that the district itself was originally denominated from the Gael, or merchants, by whom it was inhabited; to strengthen this conclusion, might be adduced the authorities of Tacitus and Ptolemy; add to which, that in the annals of Roscommon, already mentioned, the name of the river Galiva is nearly similar in orthography, and entirely so in pronunciation, to Gailibh, pronounced Gallive, and throughout the most ancient documents, wherein the name of the town appears, down to the year 1400, it is invariably written Galvy, in which, the transposition of the two final letters, is the only deviation from the Irish. In process of time the word Gal-iva, was altered into Gal-via, the literal translation of which, Gal-way, first occurs about the year 1440, and from that time, it has remained uniform and unchanged, by any variation to the present day.

Having thus far dwelt on the etymology and orthography of the name of Galway, it is now time to conclude a disquisition which has already become tedious, leaving the reader fully at liberty to form or retain his own opinion on the subject. What has been collected, however, appears strongly to support the position, that the town of Galway and the district in which it is situate, were, from an early period, distinguished for trade and commerce, a circumstance from which they derive their name; and, when in addition to these, the excellent situation of the place, its local advantages, and many capabilities for foreign commerce, and inland traffick and navigation, its noble bay, the finest perhaps in the kingdom, and the natural security of its harbour, shall be taken into consideration, powerfully corroborative reasons will be found in favor of the same conclusion.

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A curious supposition has been entertained relative to the original formation of the bay of Galway, it is related, in one of the old Irish annals, that in the year of the world 1969, there were but three lakes of any consequence in the whole island, namely, Loch-Foirdream, said to have been at Slievmis, near Tralee, in the County of Kerry, Finloch, the present Loughcarra, in the County of Mayo, and Loch-Lurgan, which is described as a spacious lake between the County of Clare and West Connaught, to the south of Galway, and extending a considerable distance towards the east. This lake is supposed to have been the present bay of Galway, which was once, say the annnalists, separated from the

Ptolemy into Eblana, and afterwards corrupted into
Dublana, that she might be held in remembrance!

To open a communication between Killalla and Galway, by means of the Moy, Loughmask, and Loughcorrib, was one of the practicable projects of those who were employed to survey the navigable rivers of Ireland in the early part of the eighteenth century, and, if carried into effect, would have proved a most important addition to the internal navigation of this country. They also intended to make the Colgan navigable, or extend its navigation from Galway to the Shannon. Lough Corrib

might be easily rendered of extremely important advantage to this part of the kingdom; it spreads its waters over 50700 acres, and disembogues its surplus into the bay, from which it is but three miles distant.- Newenham. Had these great national plans been executed at the time they were projected, Galway might now, notwithstanding the many political disabilities under which it has since laboured, be one of the most considerable mercantile towns in this kingdom, instead of which, it remains, with all its natural advantages, a melancholy monument of the sad effects of bigotry, prejudice and persecution.

ocean by strong banks, until the Atlantic bursting over them and uniting with the water within, formed the bay, leaving the three islands of Arran, the towering remnants of the chain or barrier, which were too high to be overflown by the billows. The position of these islands, with relation to the main land, as it favours, seems also to have given rise to this idea. O'Flaherty says that in his time, a lough in a neighbouring inlet of the sea, was called Lough Lurgan, but how far the entire circumstance is deserving of credit, is left, without any comment, to the judgment of the reader.

1

It has been generally agreed that this bay was the Ausoba of Ptolemy. Camden and Baxter are however of opinion that Lough Corrib was the place. Ware thinks it the river Galvia which takes its rise out of that lough, and washing the town, falls into the bay. ' Richard of Cirencester makes it Clew Bay in the County of Mayo, but Beauford, with more accuracy, thinks it the bay of Galway, which, he says, was the Abhsidhe or Abhansidhem of the Irish, and as such, it has been almost universally taken. The writer, last mentioned, states, that the word signifies Oestuarium, derived from the Irish, Auscobha, a projection of water, and although this might very properly have been classed amongst the other visionary derivatives of the same author, yet it remained uncontroverted, until Vallancey advanced another conjecture, and apparently discovered the signification of this obscure word. In his essay on the primitive inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, he says "commerce, with the Irish and Arabs, was esteemed honorable, and hence, in both countries, the adjective asob, noble, was prefixed to the word implying commerce, to signify a merchant.-Asob Gaelibh, the merchants of Galway, and hence Ptolemy names the bay of Galway sinus asobus." Were this far fetched though ingenious supposition correct, it would add considerable weight to the preceding conclusions, concerning the former name and commerce of Galway; but being equally fanciful with the other, it must be abandoned, as one of the etymological reveries of the veteran antiquary, in his endeavours to give an oriental cast to the antiquities of Ireland; nor shall the reader be longer detained on the elucidation of a subject more difficult than important, at the present day, and which shall therefore be consigned to the conjectural inquiries of some abler etymologist.

Of the inhabitants of Galway, previously to the invasion of Henry II, there are no accounts remaining, except by tradition, but some time after that event took place, the town appears to have been inhabited by a number of families,

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t

who were principally occupied on the fishings of the lake and bay, and in making short voyages along the coast, their names are given as follow: " Athy, Branegan, Blundell, Brunt, Burdon, Cale, Calf, Coppiner or Coppinger, Develin or Dilin, Ffarty, Ffrihin, le Fickhill, Kellerie, Kerwick, Lang, Lawles, Moylin, Muneghan, Penrise, Sage, Kancaorach, Valley or Wallin, Verdon, Weider and White," there were many others, whose names are now buried in oblivion, but who are recorded as having been burgesses of the town. To these early inhabitants and their successors, Lynch in his MS. remarks, before referred to, alludes in the following words, "it was not they who gave any name of credit or fame to the town of Galway, but the colony next after mentioned, for until the latter came hither, this town was but an ordinary place, with only thatched houses and some castles, but it was by the new colonies and septs, made famous to the world, for their trading faithfully, discharging their credit, good education, charity and hospitality both at home and abroad." That this plain but honorable description, though given by a native of the town, was neither the result of partiality nor the effect of prejudice, the reader will find fully illustrated by various examples throughout the course of this work.

The new colonies, here alluded to, consisted of several families, whose descendants, are known to this day, under the general appellation of the "tribes of Galway," an expression, first invented by Cromwell's forces, as a term of reproach against the natives of the town, for their singular friendship and attachment to each other during the time of their unparallelled troubles and persecutions, but which, the latter afterwards adopted, as an honorable

for, so far from the bay being more exposed than others to wind or storms, as this name would seem to imply, it is, perhaps, the best sheltered and most secure of any other on the extensive coast of the west of Ireland.

"Several of these names are still to be found here, viz. Athy, Ffarty, Ffrihin, Killery, Kerwick, (if, as supposed, it be the same as Kirwan,) and White; but the remainder are long since extinct.

• Sir Henry Branegan was warden in 1497.

1375, August 16, the Lord Justice of Ireland, being at Limeryk, constituted Clemens Laveragh and John Baudekyn, clerks to inquire and determine concerning a certain transgression on Nicholas Calf, burgess of Galvy, by Thomas Martyn; and also to take assize of novel desseizen, which said Nicholas arraied against said Thomas and Margaret his wife, concerning tenements in Galvy.-Rot. Pat. 49 Edw. III.

James Develin was portreve of Galway in 1451; he is the last of the name on record. This family was succeeded by that of D'Arcy.

Thomas Laghles and Thomas le Botillor, were constables of Connaught, in 1285.-Rot. Pip. 15 Berm. Tur.

This ancient family, which is long since extinct, was descended from Rise, one of the Welch princes, after whom they were called Rhesi, Risi, or Ap-en-Rise. Their

sepulchre, until lately, remaining in the church of the friars-minors of Galway, pointed out their former consequence. Particular mention is made of Thomas Ap-en-Rise, and his wife, Eleanor, before the year 1280. Stephen Penrise was provost of the town in 1313, he was afterwards bailiff and collector of the new customs, and died 1383. Thomas Penrise, who lived until about the end of the fourteenth century, was the last male heir of his family; he was succeeded by Joan Penrise, who intermarried with Stephen Lynch Fitz-Thomas, of Bridge Gate.-Molyneux Col.

This, as well as the last family, was from Wales. In the account of the County of Connaught, from 1279 to 1281, by Henry de Rupe (Roche,) then sheriff, it appears that the king's peace was granted to Howel, son of Crannow le Waleis.-Rot. Pip. 9 B. T.

There are strong reasons to conclude that a colony from Wales settled in this part of Ireland about the end of the reign of Henry III. many original Welch names frequently occur in old records about, and long after, that period, viz. Brecknocke, Llewellyn, Howel, and several others.-Vide the rolls in Lerm. Tower, passim.

"Nicholas White was provost of the town in 1547.Rot. Placit Edw. III. B. T.