Motto: Ductus non coactus (May be Led, not to be Driven)
The Athy family was among the earliest Norman settlers in Galway, recognized for building the town’s first stone house or castle in the 13th century. Though once prominent, the surname has largely disappeared from Galway today. William de Athy served as Treasurer of Connacht in 1388, earning £10 annually. The family held various posts but never matched the influence of more dominant Tribes. Originating from Gerard de Athee of Athee-sur-Cher, France, the family is mentioned in the Magna Carta through Engelard de Cigogne, who adopted the surname. They later settled in Kildare before migrating west. Disputes with the Blake family in the 14th century are the first clear historical reference to their role in Galway’s civic affairs. Notable properties included castles at Rinville (near Oranmore) and other holdings around Athenry and Galway. Another family member, Margaret Athy founded the Augustinian Monastery on Forthill in 1508.
The Athy house is recorded on the mid-seventeenth century Pictorial map of Galway as a high-tower house behind Market Street, opposite St. Nicholas’s Collegiate Church. Nothing remains of the largest building illustrated in the 1651 Memorial Map of Galway, which once stood at the entrance to Bowling Green from Market/Lombard Street (Marked as R on the map).
The doorway of an Athy House dated 1577, from their mansion in St Augustine Street, with a window, were removed and purchased by the sculptress Clare Sheridan for five pounds in 1947 and is currently in the care of Galway City council. The spandrels from the doorcase are on display in the Galway City museum.
The last recorded person of the name in Galway was Edmond Joseph Philip Lynch Athy of Renville who was High Sheriff of Galway and died in the early years of the twentieth century without Male heirs.
