Galway Scrap Book
All roads and paths in the County Galway countryside centre in the story of the churches abbeys, confiscations, and land tenure. From this story one can see Galway life, ethics, laws, ways of speech. In short, it was, and is the brief abstract and chronicle of the life of our people. The imaginative man of today passing through city, town or village, or along a Galway road, must see that thousands of years of human life lie behind so contracted an area as the county. Educators have been brought to the view that the best approach to history in general is through the history of the home town or village, and through the study of their national life and government from their origins to their present complex forms. The Galway Scrap-book is the searchings of historical text-books awards, biographies, pamphlets, and similar documents. A whole world of information is obtained in this way, and it is to be hoped that the results may be illuminating as well as useful.
Chartered Towns
The chief Irish towns in existence at the period of the invasion of Ireland in the reign of Henry II, towns such as Galway, Tuam and Athenry, were modelled on the chartered borough of England. Settlers were induced to come from England by the grant of various privileges to those who should take up residence in these towns. The chief privilege conferred upon the inhabitants was that of self-government. They were empowered to elect their own officers and councils, establish their own courts, and appoint their own magistrates. In all cases the various rights and privileges conferred depended upon charters. These charters were granted by English kings or Norman nobles. From a study of the charters granted to these towns we are enabled to discuss the main features of their constitution and economic system. The land upon which the towns were built, together with a considerable stretch of the adjacent territory was conferred by charter upon the citizens or burgesses. In the royal charters the land was always conferred in fee farm to be held for ever by the citizens or burgesses from the king and his heirs and successors, subject to an annual rent. They were allowed to manage their own affairs free from interference on the part of king or noble.
The earliest charters show in practically all cases that the chief office in the civic constitution should be held by a single individual who was to be elected by his fellow citizens. This chief magistrate was known as "Mayor," and he was to hold office for one year, and at the end of his period of service the citizens were empowered to retain him in office or elect another citizen in his place. It will be noticed that the Mayor is often referred to as "Seneschal," and in later years as "Portreeve" and "Sovereign." He possessed great powers of jurisdiction over the citizens in the conduct of civic affairs and in the control of industry. In times of danger he was in command of the armed force of the town for purposes of offence or defence. He was advised and assisted in the duties of his office by a body of councillors. In point of rank and importance then came the bailiffs. The office of bailiff was always a dual one, the title never being used in the singular. Having important executive functions they likewise acted as magistrates in the civic courts. During the reign of James I the title of "sheriff" was substituted for the title of "bailiff" in the charters granted. As in the case of the mayor or provost, the bailiffs or sheriffs were elected annually by the citizens and burgesses.
The most important right possessed by the citizens or burgesses under the charters was that of making laws and ordinances for the good government of their towns. Each of the chartered towns was granted its own court. The terms " citizens " and " burgesses " were " freemen " - owners of houses, shops or gardens, the burgage tenants (from whose burgages the rent or "ferm " of the town was originally due). As time went on freemen were not restricted to those holding burgage tenures. Sons of freemen, sons-in-law of freemen, and apprentices to freemen who had completed their time were admitted. From a perusal of the list of mayors and sheriffs of Galway it appears that these offices were for years held by the principal "tribes."
Other officers mentioned in the mediaeval records in addition to the Mayor, Bailiffs or Sheriffs, were the Recorder, Coroner, Clerk of the Common Council, the Treasurer, Sword-bearer, Water Bailiffs, and the Collector of the Tolls and Customs.
The representation of Irish cities and towns in the Councils or parliaments held in Ireland was at an earlier date than were the English boroughs in an English Parliament. In the list of towns summoned to the Parliament which met in the first year of Richard II's reign, Galway and Athenry appear.
Galway City
There is little accurate information of an early date available regarding Galway. From the first part of the thirteenth century the town was under the control of the heads of the family of De Burgh, Anglo-Norman Lords of Connacht, who appointed its provosts or portreeves. Towards the close of the same century expenditure is recorded to have been made on the walls and fortifications of Galway from tolls levied there on wine, wool, cloth, leather, salt, fish, and other articles. The customs received at Galway in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were considerable. Richard II in 1396-7, by charter, conferred on Galway various privileges in connection with trade, and authorised the Provost and burgesses to elect annually from among themselves a sovereign or chief magistrate for the town. This charter set forth that
"the key to parts of the land of the King of England in Ireland was the town of Galway, in which his liege people as well as strangers were received, protected and comforted, but that it was so encompassed by English rebels and Irish enemies, that traders and others dared not approach it by land or water without a considerable guard; and that the burgesses, for its safe custody and defence, to their great impoverishment, maintained at their own cost, many men-at-arms, continuously by day and night."
The annual election of a Mayor and Bailiffs was sanctioned by Richard III in 1484, under a charter which included a prohibition against any lord, official, or other person entering the town without licence from its authorities. In the same year the Church of St. Nicholas was, with Papal sanction, made collegiate under the rule of a warden and vicars, to be annually elected by the Mayor and his council.
Henry VIII, in 1536, addressed a mandate, dated from Greenwich on 28th April 1536, to Galway, in which, among other matters, he ordered the inhabitants not to sell merchandise except in market towns; to shave their "over lips," to let their hair grow till it covered their ears; to wear English caps and attire shaped after the English fashion; to forego the use of saffron in their garments, to have not more than five standard ells in their shirts; to adopt the long bow and English arrows; to learn to speak English, to "use themselves after the English fashion," to reform the administration of justice by the Mayor and Bailiffs, not to succour the King's enemies, and not to forestall Limerick Market. In 1545 Henry VIII confirmed the previous charters of Galway and added further privileges.
A Charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1575, about which time Camden in his Britannia described Galway as a very fair and proper town, nearly circular in form, and built almost entirely of solid stone. He added that it was well frequented by merchants, and had easy and gainful traffic by exchange of rich commodities both by sea and land.
By a charter from James I in December, 1610, the first Sheriffs of Galway were appointed, and the town was constituted a separate county. At that period and subsequently, Mayors and Sheriffs of the Catholic religion, after their elections, declined office and incurred fines rather than take the oath of supremacy.
In 1642-3 Galway allied itself to the Irish Confederation in favour of Charles I. The administration of the town was then assumed by the Catholics, and continued by them till its surrender in 1652, to the Parliamentarian forces, after a siege of nine months. Under the Parliamentarians the government of the town was taken from the Catholics, who were treated with the greatest severity. In a petition for relief from the government of the time at Dublin, they described themselves as the descendants of "an ancient colony of English, planted in this nook of the country and endowed by the Crown of England, with charters, grants and immunities."
A charter of incorporation was, in 1676, granted to Galway by Charles II. In 1686 Catholics were, by order of James II admitted to the Corporation. A Catholic Mayor was elected, and a new charter was given by the King in 1687. During the subsequent war Galway took the side of James II in opposition to William III. It was besieged with quite a large force by General de Ginkle in 1691, and surrendered on honourable terms in July of that year. The administration of the town subsequently came into the hands of the followers of William and Mary.
The Royal Galway Institution and Chamber of Commerce
On 16th November, 1791, a number of wealthy merchants and county gentlemen, both Catholic and Protestant, formed the Amicable Literary Society of Galway. The objects of the Society were " the acquiring and disseminating useful information on the important subjects of agriculture, commerce, science, etc." There were 80 members and mode of election ensured that they were " select and respectable." All religious and political discussions were strictly prohibited. Walter Lambert of Cregaclare, a leading Protestant land proprietor, was elected first president. The other original members were: Mark Lynch, treasurer; John Lynch Alexander, secretary; two Protestant vicars - Rev. Campbell and Rev. Young; the Catholic Vicar, Dean Kirwan; Father Tierney, O.S.A.; Dr. Henry Blake; Dr. Oliver Martin; Dr. Patrick Cheevers; Gregory Anthony French; Patrick A. Blake; and Walter Joyce. The address was given as Abbeygate Street and consisted of two separate reading rooms, one of them being used as a library. Hardiman describes the library as being good. The second room was " for newspapers and conversation." Dutton states;
" If I am rightly informed (I hope not), several men of large fortune are upwards of ten years in arrears, though the subscription is only one guinea a year; if so, I should venture to think that the society must have been under a bad regime, or, that men of fortune and gentlemen are not synonomous.. The arrangements are under the directions of a president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary, a committee of four members, and a librarian, all chosen half yearly; every person proposed for admission, and seconded, must remain a week on the books previous to a ballot, at which there must be at least twelve members; two black beans are fatal; this difficulty of admission they say makes them select, but I apprehend it might be used in so numerous a society to answer a party, if such a thing could be found in an amicable society. Their funds are ample: besides periodical works, they take in several English and Irish papers, but shame to say (if I am rightly informed) they take neither the English or Irish Farmers' Journals, or Munster Magazine, etc."
Hardiman writes:
" Several of our most respectable merchants and traders have lately associated themselves as a Chamber of Commerce to promote the interests of trade. It is surely unnecessary to say, that as the objects of this laudable association are of the most vital importance to the town, it becomes the duty, nay more, the interest, of every individual to forward those objects. Without a spirit of industry, says an accurate observer, no trade can flourish; and without a persevering attention to the interests of commerce, even the advantages of situation will have no effect. That the prosperity of the town would lead to that of the country requires very little proof; it is, in fact, a self-evident proposition: for is it not clear that the produce of land would always find a ready export market; and, as it could never fail of a permanent consumption, would not the value of estates be consequently increased? It appears, therefore, to be the interest of the country gentlemen and farmers to forward the objects of this institution: to their united exertions the author wishes every success, convinced as he is, that the extension of commerce is the only certain means of rendering this country rich, flourishing and happy."
In 1839 The Amicable Society of Galway was incorporated by Royal Charter under the title of The Royal Galway Institution for the promotion of Polite Literature, Science, and Antiquities. It was to be governed by a Council of twenty-one, including a President, three Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer. The Council was to be elected by ballot the 16th March, each year, and to meet the first and third Thursday of each month. General meetings of the institution were to be held on the first and third Fridays of each month from November to June, inclusive.
Thom's Directory of 1851 records the following officers: President - Anthony O'Flaherty, M.P.; Vice-Presidents - Very Rev. B. J. Roche; Augustus Bensbach, M.D., Professor, Queen's College; Patrick Moran, M.D.; Council - P. M. Lynch, Local Director of the Bank of Ireland; P. G. Fitzgerald, Bursar, Queen's College; R. N. Somerville; T. W. Moffett, A.M., LL.B., Professor, Queen's College; John Mulcahy, LL.B. Professor, Queen's College; Rev. George Commins; Richard Doherty, M.D., Professor, Queen's College; Rev. Dr. O'Toole Vice-President, Queen's College; Cornelius Mahony, Professor, Queen's College; Captain George A Bedford, Royal Navy; Edmond Donnellan; William Nesbitt, A.M., Professor, Queen's College; Golding Bird, Collector of Excise; Thomas Corr; and Rev. Austin McDermott.
On his death Hardiman bequeathed the bulk of his extensive and valuable library to the institution.
Some of Hardiman's Manuscripts are preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, but the following prefactory note in the Academy's catalogue explains how the greater part of his works were lost to Ireland:-
"The said J. H. was several years making this valuable collection; but he was, at last, obliged to dispose of it to the trustee of the British Museum, for the third of its value, Viz., for about 500, to enable him to complete the proof of the Netterville Peerage, for Mr. Jas. Netterville, who afterwards behaved most ungratefully to the said J.H."
Hardiman's devotion to the Irish language and his generosity to Irish scribes and scholars have not yet been fully recognised.