They  had  lived  for  three  or  four  centuries  in  the  town,
self-sufficing,  clannish  and  rich  ;  they  did  not  forget
the  days  of  Strong-Bow,  who,  in  the  time  of  Henry  II,


THE  MARTINS  OF  ROSS  6

began  the  settlement  of  Galway,  nor  yet  the  leadership
of  De  Burgho,  and  they  maintained  their  isolation,
and  married  and  intermarried  in  inveterate  exclusive-
ness,  until,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII,  relationship
was  so  close  and  intricate  that  marriages  were  not
easy.  They  rang  the  changes  on  Christian  names,
Nicholas,  Dominick,  Robert,  Andrew ;  they  built
great  houses  of  the  grey  Galway  limestone,  with  the
Spanish  courtyards  and  deep  archways  that  they
learned  from  their  intercourse  with  Spain,  and  they
carved  their  coats  of  arms  upon  them  in  that  indomit-
able family  pride  that  is  an  asset  of  immense  value
in  the  history  of  a  country.  Even  now,  the  shop-
fronts  of  Galway  carry  the  symbols  of  chivalry  above
their  doors,  and  battered  shields  and  quarterings
look  strangely  down  from  their  places  in  the  ancient
walls  upon  the  customers  that  pass  in  beneath  them.
