Bodkin (family)
The Bodkin family from Galway and the Earl of Desmond and Kildare come from Maurice FitzGerald from, Lord of Lanstephan. He was one of the first Anglo-Norman invaders in Ireland to come to the island in 1169. His son, Thomas FitzMaurice, acquired large estates in Munster , where his descendants became Earls of Desmond. It is one of those Anglo or Cambro-Norman families that the Tribes of Galway ( English Tribes of Galway ) are called, and for centuries the trade, the city and region in the Irish County Galway dominated. Most of these Normans did not come from England, but from Wales , which is why medievalists refer to them as Cambro Normans.
Richard, the son of Thomas FitzMaurice, received considerable properties in Connacht from Richard de Burgh († 1243), who is considered to be the founder of the city of Galway, before 1242 . His son Thomas became the ancestor of the Bodkins. In the 14th century they became one of the most powerful families in Galway. The family name Bodkin comes from around 1300, from a Thomas FitzRichard who defeated an Irish knight in a duel. He is said to have used a Bodkin point , the name of which goes back to the Irish word for dagger (not the English meaning: awl, awl etc.) and called himself Bodkin from then on.
Henry Bodkin, the son of Thomas, was an urban cleric during the reign of Richard II (1367–1400). At that time there was already a Bodkin Street or alley in Galway. The Bodkins owned large estates in and out of town and twice appointed the mayor.
The genealogy also gave clues in tracing the ancestry of the Athys and Brownes . Francis Athy's daughter, Susannah, married Patrick Bodkin in the mid-17th century. Their son, Thomas Bodkin, was married to Julian Browne, who was listed on the list of traitors during the Siege of Galway .
literature
- Adrian Martyn: The Tribes of Galway: 1124-1642 ISBN 978-0-9955025-0-5 , 2016