Lynch Memorial Window, Galway

Beside the graveyard of Saint Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway stands the Lynch Memorial Window, a stone-framed opening that recalls one of the city’s most famous legends. According to local tradition, in 1493 the mayor of Galway, James Lynch FitzStephen, condemned his own son, Walter, for the murder of a young Spanish sailor. The crime was said to have been committed in a fit of jealousy, and when the townspeople gathered to prevent the execution, the mayor reportedly took justice into his own hands — hanging his son from a window of his house to uphold the law.

The Lynches were one of Galway’s Fourteen Tribes, wealthy merchant families who governed the city for centuries. Their name remains etched into Galway’s history, most visibly in Lynch’s Castle on Shop Street, a 16th-century fortified townhouse that still bears the Lynch coat of arms.

The site of the supposed execution, known today as the Lynch Memorial Window, features a carved skull and crossbones and a plaque recounting the tale. While there is no historical proof that the hanging took place, the story has endured for centuries as a powerful symbol of justice, duty, and tragedy.

The legend of James Lynch FitzStephen is often retold to visitors as a uniquely Galwegian tale, blending history and folklore. Though the English word “lynching” arose much later and from unrelated origins, the story of the mayor who hanged his son continues to capture imaginations as one of Galway’s most enduring myths.