The City of the Tribes
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Galway ; because it was anciently the home of the thirteen "tribes" or chief families, who settled there in 1232 with Richard de Burgh.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The City of the Tribes” mean?
Galway ; because it was anciently the home of the thirteen "tribes" or chief families, who settled there in 1232 with Richard de Burgh.
Is “The City of the Tribes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.