The fourteen families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of Galway City from the 1200s to the early 1900s were called the Tribes of Galway. As a result, the city is to this day known as the ""City of the Tribes". The Lynch family, in particular, monopolised the office of mayor over this period.

The families were: Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martyn, Morris and Skerrett.

Descendants of all these families - apart from Athy, Deane, and Font - are still to be found in Co. Galway. In 2000, Angela Lynch became the 84th Lynch to serve as Mayor of Galway since 1485.