Bringing home the Tribes for biggest ever family reunion

The biggest ever Galway family reunion is being planned as part of the year’s Oyster Festival with people from overseas who bear the name of one of the 14 city tribes being invited to take part in the first ‘tribal oyster feast off’. 

Since the call went out abroad for descendents of the tribes to return home for The Gathering Ireland 2013 event, interest has been sparked far and wide.

Manager of the 59th Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival, Suzanne Meade said she had been contacted by a Bodkin in South Africa, a Browne in California, a D’arcy in Hong Kong and Nelson Bay in Australia, and a Dean from Ohio in the US. Coming to attend the festival is a Joyce from Washington, a Kirwan from Rhode Island, a Martin from Florida and a Skerrit from the UK.

Barak Obama’s cousin Henry Healy, now famously known as Henry V111 – is helping the festival to trace relatives of a Blake woman from Australia.

A Ffont based in Dublin is anxious to link up with anyone with the same name such is its scarcity.

The tribal feast-off, which takes place in the specially erected marquee in the Docks at the family day on Sunday, September 29, is open to anyone over 18 from abroad who can prove their name or a spelling variation.

Each contender will be asked to devour a tray of oysters. The winner will be the tribe descendant who eats them the fastest while avoiding penalties for what has been called “sloppy savouring”.

“We’re going to try and see if we can reunite some long lost relatives. There doesn’t seem to be a tribes gathering event so far, so we’ve been putting out the call. I’ve been overseas in the UK and US raising awareness of the event and it’s shaping up to be the biggest Galway family reunion ever held,” said Suzanne.

“We’re hoping to create a legacy event for the city and county to celebrate all those who wouldn’t normally know much about the history of the tribes. Descendants of the 14 Tribes have been traced to the wineries of France – Chateau Kirwan and Chateau Lynch Bages, throughout the UK, Australia and also as early settlers of several states in America.”

The 14 Tribes of Galway – Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D’Arcy, Deane, Ffont, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris, Skerritt – were merchant families who ruled the city from the late 12th century. They led the city to a golden age of prosperity. Such was the fame of the city that in 1477 Christopher Columbus visited here. They survived until defeat at the hands of Cromwell in 1652.

Any descendants of the Tribes of Galway interested in atending the festival should email: info@galway oysterfest.com for more details.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.