ATHY --
No records exist for Galway prior to the date of the Anglo-Norman invasion;
among the earliest preserved the name ATHY appears as a leading family in
that city/ It subsequently became one of the "Tribes of Galway",* which
appellation, according to Hardiman, was invented as a term of opprobrium by
the Cromwellian forces who regarded unfavorably the close bond of friendship
and relationship between the chief families of the city, and it was
afterwards adopted by them as a mark of distinction. Nevertheless the first
time the name Athy comes into prominence in the history of the city is
(c.1320) as a party to a series of deadly disputes between the BLAKES and the
ATHYS in which the ATHYS were worsted. They were never comparable in
influence with the more powerful of the Tribes, but several of them held
important posts, e.g., William, de Athy, Treasurer of Connacht 1388.
The surname ATHY, now scarce, is a type which is common in most countries but
very rare in Ireland, being formed from a place name. The ATHYS were of
Norman Stock, settled at Athy, Co. Kildare (the RED Book of Ormond records
two tenants named de Athy in Co. Kildare in 1311), whence they soon migrated
to Galway.
* The "Tribes" were fourteen in number, viz, Athy, Bodkin, Browne, Deane,
Darcy, Fant, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerrett. Some
authorities reckon the number as thirteen, omitting Deane; but as this name
appears as early as 1448 in a responsible position in Galway, whereas the
Morris family did not go there until 1485, it seems proper to include Deane
among the Tribes.