Richard Martin was raised at Dangan House, situated on the Corrib River, four miles upriver from the town of Galway. His father’s family were Jacobites and one of “The Tribes of Galway“, fourteen merchant families who ruled Galway from the 14th to 17th centuries.
The Barnwalls were an ennobled family of Norman descent based in the counties of Dublin, Kildare and Meath in Leinster. Bridget Barnwall died when Richard was nine. Richard’s father later married Mary Lynch, a member of another “Tribal” family, with whom he had sons Robert and Anthony. Though both of his parent’s were Catholic, Richard Martin was raised a Protestant and educated in England.
Urbane, energetic, witty and proud of being Irish. His benevolence was so proverbial that the Prince regent dubbed him ‘Humanity Dick’.