John Skerrett

Who is John Skerrett?

John Skerrett, 7th Mayor of Galway, 1491-1492. Skerrett was a member of one of The Tribes of Galway, descended from a Richard Huskard who was a tenant of the Earl of Ulster in 1333. A Richard Scared served as Provost of Galway in 1378, as did a Walter Skerrett for the terms 1414-1415 and 1417-1418. Four further members of the family would become Mayors of Galway: James Skerrett 1531-1532; William Skerrett 1556-1557; Roland Skerrett 1594-1595; John Skerrett fitz William 1605-1606. Other members of the family served as bailiffs, on the town council and would fight in the Irish Confederate Wars. John Skerrett was well known in his lifetime as a preacher, lecturer and missionary.

Mayor John Skerrett was elected Provost of Galway in 1480. A copy of his mayoralty seal survives, and was illustrated in volume one of Blake Family Records by Martin J. Blake.