The Lynch family of Galway
Semper Fidelis is the family motto of the Lynch Family. The Lynches were one of the Twelve Tribes of Galway, who were fourteen merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the 13th and 16th centuries. Members of the 'Tribes' were considered Old English gentry, and distinguished themselves from the Gaelic peoples who lived in the hinterland of the city. The Lynches were descended from William Le Petit who was one of the Norman knights who settled in Ireland following the grant of Ireland as a fiefdom by Pope Adrian IV to King Henry II of England in the early 12th century. Semper Fidelis appears on the Lynch Family coat of arms. Although the earliest traceable reference to its doing so is James Hardiman's history of Galway published in 1820, the history of the family makes it likely that the motto was in use by the 14th or 15th century
Exeter,
The City of Exeter, in Devon, England, is believed to have adopted the motto in 1588, to signify the city's loyalty to the English Crown. According to White's Devonshire Directory of 1850, it was Queen Elizabeth I who suggested that the city adopt this motto (perhaps in imitation of her own motto, Semper eadem, "Ever the same").
Lwów
The words "Semper fidelis" were applied to the Polish city of Lwów (in Latin, "Leopolis"; now Lviv, in western Ukraine) in 1658
St. Malo
"Semper fidelis" is the motto of the town of St. Malo, in Brittany, France.
Cadetcorps of the Dutch Royal Military Academy
Semper fidelis is also the motto of the cadetscorps from the Dutch Royal Military Academy. The corps was founded in 1879.
The Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment of the British Army, the 11th of foot, adopted the motto "Semper fidelis" on its formation in 1881. The motto was already in use by at least some of the Devon militia units from which the regiment was formed, the Illustrated London News reporting its use on a cap badge in its 7th January 1860 issue, and it is thought that it had been in use for many years before that. The motto was continued on the badges of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment when the Devonshires were amalgamated into them in 1958. This use of the motto evidently derives from the regiments' close connection with the city of Exeter, where they had a base for many years.
The United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps EmblemThe United States Marine Corps adopted the motto, Semper Fidelis in 1883, on the initiative of Colonel Charles McCawley (January 29, 1827 – October 13, 1891), the 8th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment. The coat of arms in which it appears was approved in 1920.
The West Nova Scotia Regiment
Semper fidelis is the motto of The West Nova Scotia Regiment (of the Canadian Forces), formed in 1936. It inherited the motto from The Lunenburg Regiment, formed in 1870.
Swiss Grenadier Regiment
Semper fidelis is the motto of a Swiss Grenadier regiment formed in 1943.
Military Institute of Engineering, Brazilian Army
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the 1st company of the Brazilian Military Institute of Engineering.
. She is in no way a marine, I know her very well and this type of thing is her thing. Misleading. I don't know what to tell her, or whether I should tell her anything. Or do many of civilians have Semper Fidelis tattooed on them?
