Wylliam Martin (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1504-1547) was the 34th

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. Th ...

Martin was a member of one of

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

, and had first served as a town bailiff for the term 1504-1505. He enjoyed two terms as Mayor, 1519–1520, and 1525-1526. He is noteworthy for introducing a

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

concerning

morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...

. *''It is ordered that if any man, free or unfree, be found by nighttime in any mans house to have

copulation Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the erect male penis inside the female vagina and followed by thrusting motions for sexual pleasure, reproduction, or both.Sexual inte ...

or to do with the good mans servant girl or the daughter of a merchant became

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

, that the man responsible would have to marry or provide for her.'' Martin was also responsible for the erection during his term of ''Ceann an Bhalla'' (''the head of the wall''). This was an extension of the town wall from Martin's Tower to the bank of the Corrib, as a measure to protect the town's quays, which were located in the area once known as the Fish Market. It is now known as the

Spanish Arch The Spanish Arch () and the Caoċ Arch (, "blind arch") in Galway city, Ireland, are two remaining arches on the Ceann an Bhalla ("Front Wall"). History The two arches were part of the extension of the city wall from Martin's Tower to the ban ...

. He was the first Mayor of the Martyn family, who would ultimately produce nineteen Mayors and almost thirty

Bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

s and

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

s of Galway. His only known child was

Thomas Óge Martyn Thomas Óge Martyn, Mayor of Galway, fl. 1533-c. 1577. Early life Martyn was a merchant of Galway and a member of the Martyn (surname), Martyn family, one of the Tribes of Galway. He was the son of former Mayor of Galway, Wylliam Martin. West ...

References

*''History of Galway'',

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, 1820. *''Old Galway'',

Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan Mary Josephine Donovan O'Sullivan was professor of history at Queens College, Galway (now NUI Galway) from 1914 to 1957. Biography One of ten children, four of whom survived infancy, Donovan was born at Fair Hill Road in Galway on 24 November ...

, 1942. *Henry, William (2002). ''Role of Honour: The Mayors of Galway City 1485-2001''. Galway: Galway City Council. * Martyn, Adrian (2016). ''The Tribes of Galway: 1124-1642'' 16th-century Irish businesspeople Politicians from County Galway Irish merchants Mayors of Galway 15th-century births 16th-century deaths {{Ireland-mayor-stub

See also

References