Galway Mayoralty
Archived: 19 October 2026
In 1484, Ireland comprised the English lordship, autonomous towns, Anglo-Irish magnates and Gaelic dynasties, each governed through distinct but connected powers. Under Richard III, Gerald FitzGerald, earl of Kildare, dominated Dublin administration, while parliament regulated coinage, revenues, religious property, fortification and urban affairs. Galway strengthened its position when St Nicholas’s became collegiate and Richard granted the town a mayoralty. Elsewhere, insecurity persisted: northern war between O’Neill and O’Donnell coincided with a violent Maguire succession dispute in Fermanagh, involving murder, raids, captives and church attacks. Annals also record deaths, imprisonment and pastoral wealth, revealing fragmented political and social life across Ireland.