Peirce Lynch

Who is Peirce Lynch?

Peirce Lynch, alias Peter Lynch, Mayor of Galway, fl. 1485–1486.

The son of John Lynch fitz Edmond and a brother of Dominick Dubh Lynch and a member of one of The Tribes of Galway, Peirce became the first Mayor of Galway in August 1485, being succeeded by his brother Dominck in August 1486. Namesakes who served as Mayor included Peirce Lynch fitz Oliver and Peirce Lynch fitz John Óge, though it is not known with certainty if either of these men were his descendants.

His grandfather, Edmond Lynch, was Sovereign of Galway in the years 1434 and 1443. Their earliest known ancestor, Thomas de Lynch, was provost of Galway in 1274.

Descendants of the family continued to hold office regularly up to 1654. Angela Lynch, who served two terms as Mayor ending in 2001, was the eighty-fourth bearer of the name to serve as Mayor of Galway. However, her family were originally from County Cork.