Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".
Baron Athenry is one of the oldest titles in the Peerage of Ireland, but the date of its creation is thoroughly uncertain; each of the first four Berminghams listed below is claimed by some writers to have been Lord Athenry, but the evidence is disputed. The title appears to have been given to the de Birmingham family of Birmingham, Warks, England as a reward for their help in the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1172. Both Sir William de Birmingham, and his son Robert de Birmingham, are variously claimed to have been involved in the invasion, but it is probable that, after the invasion, William returned to his home in England and left Robert their new lands in Ireland.
The First Battle of Athenry was fought on 15 August 1249 at Athenry in modern County Galway, Ireland. The Gaelic forces of Connacht besieged the town but were repelled by the Normans under Jordan de Exeter, Sheriff of Connacht.
Jordan de Exeter (1239–58), alternatively known as Jordan d'Exeter, was an Anglo-Norman knight, Sheriff of Connacht, and ancestor of the Mac Siúrtáin/Mac Jordan clan.
Jordan Óge de Exeter was an Anglo-Irish knight and Sheriff of Connacht.
Mac Siúrtáin, aka Mac Jordan and Jordan, is the name of a Connacht family of Norman-Irish origins.
Rickard de Bermingham, otherwise Rickard Mac Fheorais, was Anglo-Irish lord of Athenry.
The de Birmingham family held the lordship of the manor of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also assisted in the invasion of Ireland and were rewarded with the Barony of Athenry. They were stripped of most of their lands in England by the notorious John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who held sway over the young King Edward VI (1547–1553).
Bermingham is the Gaelicised version of 'De Birmingham' and is descended from the family of Warwickshire, England. The Irish version of the name Mac Feorais/Mac Fheorais is derived from Pierce de Bermingham. The first recorded Bermingham in Ireland, Robert de Bermingham accompanied Richard de Clare or 'Strongbow' in Henry II's conquest of Ireland in 1172. On arrival he received: "an ancient monument, valued at 200 pounds, on which was represented in brass the landing of the first ancestor of the family of Birmingham in Ireland."
Francis Bermingham, O.F.M., fl. 1652, was an Irish Franciscan friar and scholar.
John de Bermingham, 1st and last Earl of Louth was an Irish peer. He was the commander of the Anglo-Irish army in the Battle of Faughart, the decisive battle in the Irish Bruce Wars 1315–1318. In this battle, Edward Bruce was killed, and Bermingham had Bruce's severed head 'salted in a chest' and transported to England to be put on display before Edward II. He was briefly Viceroy of Ireland in 1321.
Meyler de Bermingham was an Anglo-Irish lord, founder of Athenry.
Peter de Bermingham was the Anglo-Irish second lord of Athenry who died c. 1309.
Thomas de Bermingham was an Anglo-Irish lord who died in 1375.
William de Bermingham was Archbishop of Tuam.
Sir William Liath de Burgh was an Irish noble and Justiciar of Ireland (1308–09). He was an ancestor of the Mac William Uachtar and Mac William Íochtar who were later earls of Clanricarde and Mayo respectively.
Thomas mac Edmond Albanach de Búrca, 2nd Mac William Íochtar was an Irish chieftain and noble who was lord of Lower (North) Connacht, Ireland.
There are numerous Bermingham monuments in Ireland, particularly in counties Kildare, Offaly, Galway, and Dublin. Most are now in a poor state but Athenry Castle in Galway has been restored, using building techniques similar to those employed when it was originally built.
Strade Abbey is a former Franciscan/Dominican monastery and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.
The Priory Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Athenry, also called Athenry Priory, is a medieval Dominican priory and National Monument located in Athenry, Ireland.
