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TheSpanish Armada in Ireland refers to the landfall made upon the coast ofIreland in September1588 of a large portion of the 130-strong fleet sent byPhilip II to invadeEngland.
Following its defeat at thenaval battle of Gravelines, the Armada had attempted to return home through theNorth Atlantic, when it was driven from its course by violent storms, toward the west coast of Ireland. The prospect of a Spanish landing alarmed theDublin government ofQueen Elizabeth I, which prescribed harsh measures for the Spanish invaders and any Irish who might assist them.
Up to 24 ships of the Armada were wrecked on a rocky coastline spanning 500 km, fromAntrim in the north toKerry in the south, and the threat to Crown authority was readily defeated. Many of the survivors of the multiple wrecks were put to death, and the remainder fled across the sea to Scotland. It is estimated that some 6,000 members of the fleet perished in Ireland or off its coasts.
The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships that sailed fromA Coruña in August 1588 under the command of theDuke of Medina Sidonia with the purpose of escorting an army fromFlanders to invadeEngland. It met with armed resistance in theEnglish Channel, when a fireship attack off Calais broke its formation, and was driven into theNorth Sea after theBattle of Gravelines.
When the fleet entered the North Sea, 110 ships remained under Medina Sidonia's command. Many were damaged by gunfire or were running low on supplies, making them unfit for service in the Atlantic Ocean. Some had cut their anchors in the flight from the fireships, which severely diminished their ability to navigate close to shore. Also, the Armada commanders made a large navigational error that brought the fleet too close to the dangerous Atlantic coasts of Scotland and Ireland.
After Gravelines the commanders of the Armada held a conference on Sidonia's flagship. Some proposed a course for Norway, others for Ireland. The admiral made his choice, and orders were issued to the fleet:
The course that is first to be held is to the north/north-east until you be found under 61 degrees and a half; and then to take great heed lest you fall upon the Island of Ireland for fear of the harm that may happen unto you upon that coast. Then, parting from those islands and doubling the Cape in 61 degrees and a half, you shall run west/south-west until you be found under58 degrees; and from thence to the south-west to the height of53 degrees; and then to the south/south-west, making to theCape Finisterre, and so to procure your entrance into The GroyneA Coruña or toFerrol, or to any other port of coast ofGalicia.[1]
The fleet was to approach the coast of Norway, before steering to the meridian of theShetland Islands and on toRockall. This allowed passage outside the northern tip of Shetland, clearing the coast of Scotland at a distance of 160 km. Once out in the broad Atlantic, the ships were to steer to a point 645 km beyond theShannon estuary on the west coast of Ireland, giving themselves a clear run to northern Spain.[2]
The Armada's sailing orders were almost impossible to follow. The weather was difficult. Many of the ships and their crew members were in great distress. The navigators' charts were primitive,[3] and their best training and experience in the techniques ofdead reckoning and latitude sailing fell far short of what was needed to bring the fleet safely home.[4]
The Armada failed to keep its course around the north ofShetland at 611⁄2°N. Instead, on 20 August, it passed safely to the south, betweenOrkney andFair Isle, and was carried into the Atlantic at about 591⁄2°N. From there it was due to sail fromNorth Uist in theHebrides Islands until it caught sight of the distant islet ofRockall, but failed again. Southerly winds blew from 21 August to 3 September, stirred up by ananticyclone over Scandinavia, which prevented the fleet from running west-south-west as ordered. One report reflects the frustration of the navigators: "We sailed without knowing whither through constant fogs, storms and squalls".[5]
The sailing orders were rendered useless by the weather, but the miscalculation of the Armada's position contributed greatly to its destruction. The navigators were unaware of the effect of the eastward flowingGulf Stream, which must have hindered the fleet's progress – perhaps by as much as 30 km a day. The paymaster of theSan Juan Bautista, Marcos de Aramburu, recorded a log of his progress from late August onwards, when the rest of the fleet was within sight. The inference from his observations is that his ship's estimated position as it turned for home was entirely wrong, some 480 km to the west: its real position lay in the east, perilously close to the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. This single deficiency "made the difference between safety and disaster".[6]
After seven weeks at sea the opportunity to make landfall and take on supplies and effect repairs must have been welcome, but navigation in these waters demanded intimate knowledge. The experience of Spanish mariners in the intricacies of north Atlantic conditions was largely confined to trading voyages to the south and south-west of Ireland, and it is likely that the fleet's pilots preferred to maintain Sidonia's course, despite the hardships on board their ships.
Most of the fleet – 84 ships – avoided land, and most of those made it home, although in varying degrees of distress. The remainder were forced toward the coast of Ireland – perhaps 28 – and included several galleons and many merchantmen. The latter had been converted for battle and were leaking heavily, making sail with severely damaged masts and rigging, and with most of their anchors missing. The ships seem to have maintained contact until the beginning of September, when they were scattered by a south-west gale (described in the contemporary account of an Irish government official as one "the like whereof hath not been seen or heard for a long time"). Within days, this lost fleet had made landfall in Ireland.
The head of the English Crown administration at Dublin was Lord DeputyWilliam Fitzwilliam. In August 1588 he was presented with credible intelligence that the battle in the English Channel had been won by the Spanish and that the invasion of England was set to be completed. Then it was understood that the Spanish were in the Atlantic and the entire fleet was about to fall on the coast of Ireland. The degree of alarm among the English at Dublin was extreme, and Fitzwilliam put out false reports that reinforcements from England were due to arrive with 10,000 troops.
The English feared the Spanish would land in disciplined formations, with the Irish rising out to join them from territories that were almost beyond the control of the government. But reliable intelligence was soon received at Waterford and Dublin that the ships were fetching up in a chaotic manner at disparate locations in the provinces ofUlster,Connacht andMunster, along a coastline spanning 300 miles (480 km). Fitzwilliam ordered that all Spaniards be captured and hanged summarily; and that anyone aiding them be tortured and charged as a traitor to the Crown.
The Armada first made landfall in the southern province of Munster, which had beencolonised by the English in 1583 following the suppression of the last of theDesmond Rebellions. Fitzwilliam received orders from London to lead an expedition there, and intelligence from the governor of Connacht,Richard Bingham, soon confirmed that further landfalls were being made throughout the west and north of the country.
Thomond: Many ships were sighted off the coast ofCounty Clare: four atLoop Head, two of which were wrecked, includingSan Esteban (700 tons, 264 men) at Doonbeg, and probably the heavily damagedSan Marcos (790 tons, squadron of Portugal, 409 men, 33 guns) at Lurga Point (modern day Seafield,Quilty, County Clare) inside Mutton Island. All survivors were put to death by the sheriff of Clare,Boetius MacClancy (some, according to tradition, at Gallows Hill, but more likely at Cnoc na Crocaire,Spanish Point).
Seven ships anchored atScattery Roads, probably with a pilot who knew the coast. Their landing party was fought off, but they did secure some supplies and managed to repair their ships. One galleon,Anunciada (703 tons, 24 guns, 275 men), was fired and scuttled off Kilrush on 12 September,[7] and the crew transferred toBarco de Danzig, which made it safely to Spain after the squadron departed the Shannon estuary on 11 September.
Blasket Islands: One Armada commander,Juan Martínez de Recalde, did have experience of the Irish coast: in 1580 he had landed aPapal invasion force in theDingle peninsula, in the run up to theSiege of Smerwick, and had managed to evade an English squadron of warships. In the Armada he had command of thegalleonSão João de Portugal (1,150 tons, 500 men, 50 guns) of the Biscayan squadron, which engaged with the English fleet in the Channel and held offFrancis Drake inRevenge,John Hawkins inVictory, andMartin Frobisher inTriumph.
After the defeat at Gravelines Recalde's galleon ledSan Juan de Bautista (750 tons, 243 men) and another small vessel (almost certainly a Scottishfishing smack seized to assist with navigation and inshore work). As these ships approached the coast ofKerry, Recalde's lookouts sightedMount Brandon on theDingle peninsula and, to the west, the loftyBlasket Islands, a complex archipelago studded with reefs.
Recalde steered to the islands in search of shelter, riding on a swell through a tight gap at the eastern tip of theGreat Blasket Island. His galleon made it through to calm water and dropped anchor over a sandy bottom beneath sheer cliffs.San Juan de Bautista and the smack soon followed. The anchorage ensured that the only wind that might drive the ships off would bring them clear to the open sea. It was a difficult manoeuvre, demanding prior knowledge of the coastline.
Recalde's ships remained within their shelter for several days, and a crown force led byThomas Norris (brother of the soldier,John Norris) and Edward Denny (husband of Lady Denny) arrived in Dingle to guard against a landing. Recalde sent a reconnaissance party ashore, but all eight members were captured. At one stage a westerly gale causedPortugal to collide withSan Juan de Bautista, and when the wind died down another ship,Santa Maria de la Rosa (900 tons, 297 men: Guipuzcoa squadron), entered the sound from the north and fired off a gun by way of distress signal.
As the tideebbed, Recalde's ships held their anchorage in the more sheltered part of the sound, whileSanta Maria de la Rosa drifted and then simply sank — perhaps on striking Stromboli Rock — leaving one survivor for the English to interrogate. The survivor's information was that the captain ofSanta Maria de la Rosa had called the pilot a traitor and run him through with a sword just as the ship began to sink; he also asserted that the Prince of Ascoli, son of the king of Spain, had gone down with the ship — this information was false, but proved useful propaganda for the English.
Two more ships entered the sound —San Juan de Ragusa (650tons, 285 men), the other unidentified.San Juan de Ragusa was in distress and sank — perhaps on striking Dunbinna reef.San Juan de Bautista attempted to take advantage of an ebb tide and sail south out of the sound, but ended up tacking about on the flood tide to avoid the numerous reefs, before sailing through the north-west passage. After a difficult night, the crew were dismayed to find themselves at the mouth of the sound once more. But the wind blew from the south-east, andSan Juan de Bautista finally escaped on 25 September and made it home to Spain through a terrible storm.
Three days later Recalde led the remaining ships out of the sound and brought them to Spain, where he instantly died.[citation needed] Those survivors who had fallen into Denny's custody were put to death at Dingle.
Fenit: ThesloopNuestra Senora del Socorro (75 tons) anchored atFenit, inTralee Bay on the coast of Kerry, where she was surrendered to crown officers. The 24 men on board were taken into custody and marched toTralee Castle. On the orders ofLady Margaret Denny, they were all hanged from a gibbet.
Valentia Island:Trinidad (800 tons, 302 men) was wrecked on the coast of Desmond — probably atValentia Island, off the coast of south Kerry — although there are no details of this event.
AtLiscannor the oar-poweredgalleassZuñiga (290, Naples) anchored off-shore with a broken rudder, having found a gap in theCliffs of Moher, which rise sheer from the sea over 220 metres. The ship came under surveillance by the sheriff of Clare and, when a cock-boat was sent ashore in search of supplies, the Spanish were attacked by crown forces and had to withdraw to their ship. One captive was taken and sent for interrogation.Zuñiga escaped the coast with favourable winds, put in atLe Havre, and finally made it back to Naples the following year.
Donegal:La Trinidad Valencera (1,000 tons, Levant squadron, 360 men, 42 guns) had taken on more water than could be pumped out. Yet as she approached the coast she managed to rescue 264 men from theBarca de Amburgo, another ship swamped in the heavy seas.Trinidad anchored inGlenagivney Bay, where she listed to such a degree that the order was given to abandon ship. Some locals were paid for the use of a small boat, and over the course of two days all 560 men were ferried to shore.[8]La Trinidad Valencera sank inKinnagoe Bay, Inishowen.[9]
During a seven-day march inland, the column of survivors met a force ofcavalry under the command of Richard Hovenden andHenry Hovenden, foster-brothers ofHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.[10][11][12] Ultimately Tyrone's forces committed the largest single massacre of Armada survivors in Inishowen.[13] Upon pledges of safe conduct for their delivery into the custody of Fitzwilliam, the Spanish laid down their arms.[citation needed] The noblemen and officers were separated out, and 300 of the ordinary men were massacred. The surviving 150 fled through the bog, ending up either withSorley Boy MacDonnell atDunluce or at the house of Redmond O'Gallagher, the bishop of Derry, and were sent to Scotland. The 45 noblemen and officers were marched to Dublin, but only 30 survived to reach the capital, where they were dispatched to London for ransom.
Tyrone's men captured thirty Spanish officers from theSpanish Armada's September 1588 shipwreck inInishowen, and handed them over to Hugh MacManus O'Donnell so he could offer the government to exchange them for his son,Hugh Roe, who was then imprisoned inDublin Castle. This was unsuccessful.[14]
The Armada shipLa Trinidad Valencera sank inKinnagoe Bay, Inishowen.[9] Tyrone's mercenary forces, commanded by his Hovenden foster-brothers, proceeded to Inishowen upon hearing of the presence of Spanish fugitives there.[15] Tyrone's instructions to the Hovendens are unknown;[16] ultimately his forces committed the largest single massacre of Armada survivors in Inishowen.[13] FitzWilliam was suspicious of the Earl's activities and refused to believe this news, but it was confirmed by a Spanish escapee.[17] Historians John Marshall,Hiram Morgan and Matthew McGinty characterise Tyrone as reluctantly ordering the massacre to keep in the English government's good graces.[18] Contemporary sources imply that the massacre was carried out on the actions of the O'Donnell clan,[a] who counselled O'Neill's troops,[13] though this is possibly misdirection by Tyrone.[17] Government officials reported that Tyrone heavily reprimanded Hugh McManus O'Donnell for betraying the Spaniards and their refuge, and he contemptuously told O'Donnell to seek dwelling in another country.[21]
On 25 September, the shipsLa Lavia,La Juliana and theSanta Maria de Vison became shipwrecked at Streedagh Strand in County Sligo.[22] Tyrone himself assisted three sick officers and many commoners,[23] including ordinary seamanPedro Blanco ofLa Juliana, who was kept on as his footman and manservant throughout the whole of theNine Years' War.[24] Tyrone also helped stranded nobleman Don Antonio Manrique escape Ulster.[17] Ultimately about a dozen Spaniards remained in Ireland,[25] as despite their desire to return home,Philip II of Spain believed they would be of better use as emissaries for Tyrone.[24] It seems Tyrone never recruited these Spaniards as soldiers. His decision may have been affected by the hostility the English had towards LordBrian O'Rourke for recruiting Spaniards into his military.[13]
Three further ships — unidentified — were wrecked on the Donegal coast, one at Mullaghderg, one at Rinn a' Chaislean. The third was found in 2010 at Burtonport.[26] On 25 September, the shipsLa Lavia,La Juliana and theSanta Maria de Vison became shipwrecked at Streedagh Strand in County Sligo.[27][28] Tyrone himself assisted three sick officers and many commoners,[13][17] including ordinary seamanPedro Blanco.[13] Tyrone also helped stranded nobleman Don Antonio Manrique escape Ulster.[17][29]
Antrim: The greatest loss of life was on the sinking of the galleassLa Girona. She had docked for repairs to her rudder atKillybegs, where 800 survivors from two other Armada shipwrecks were taken aboard - fromLa Rata Santa Maria Encoronada andDuquesa Santa Ana, which went aground atLoughros Mor Bay, Donegal.La Girona set sail for Scotland, but on 26 October her rudder broke and she was wrecked off Lacada Point,County Antrim. Of the estimated 1300 people on board, only nine survived.[30]
The Governor of Connacht,Richard Bingham, sought reinforcements from Dublin but his request was denied by Fitzwilliam, who had few resources at his disposal. A proclamation made it treason on pain of death for any man to help Spaniards. Many survivors were delivered toGalway from all over the province. In the first wave of seizures, 40 noblemen were reserved for ransom, and 300 men were put to death. Later, on the orders of Fitzwilliam, all the unarmed noblemen except two were also executed, along with six Dutch boys who had fallen into custody afterward. In all, 12 ships were wrecked on the coast of Connacht, and 1,100 survivors were put to death.[31][32]
Galway:Falcon Blanco (300 tons, 103 men, 16 guns) andConcepción de Juanes del Cano of Biscay (225 men, 18 guns) and another unknown ship enteredGalway Bay.Falcon Blanco grounded atBarna, five km west ofGalway City, and most of those on board made it to shore.Concepción de Juanes del Cano grounded atCarna 30 km further west, having been lured to shore by the bonfires of a party ofwreckers from theClanO'Flaherty
Sligo: Three ships grounded near Streedagh Strand, ten miles North of Sligo town, with 1,800 men drowned and perhaps 100 coming ashore. Thewreck-site was discovered in 1985. Among the survivors was CaptainFrancisco de Cuellar, who gave a remarkable account of his experiences in the fleet and on the run in Ireland.
Mayo: In September a galleon was wrecked at Tyrawley (modernCounty Mayo). Tradition[example needed] has it that another ship was wrecked in the vicinity, near Kid Island, but no record remains of this event. Also,Gran Grin was wrecked at the mouth ofClew Bay.
Among those ships wrecked in Connacht was the merchantcarrackLa Rata Santa Maria Encoronada (419 men, 35 guns), which had run for the Irish coast in desperate need of repair, along with four other ships of the Levant squadron and four galleons.La Rata Santa Maria Encoronada carried an unusually large number of noblemen from the most ancient families of Spain — chief among them DonAlonso Martinez de Leyva — as well as the son of the Irish rebel,James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald.
La Rata Santa Maria Encoronada was skillfully handled along the northern coast of Mayo, but could not clear theMullet Peninsula, and so anchored inBlacksod Bay on 7 September. The wind got up and the anchors dragged, until the ship was driven on to Ballycroy strand. All the crew got to shore under the leadership of de Leyva, and two castles were seized and fortified with munitions and stores from the beached ship, which was then torched. The rebel's son, Maurice Fitzmaurice, had died on board, and was cast into the sea in a cypress chest.
The Spanish soon moved on to another castle, where they were met by a host of fellow survivors, approaching from the wreck in Broadhaven of another ship, which had entered that bay without masts. De Leyva's host now numbered 600, and the governor of Connacht,Richard Bingham, chose not to confront them. After some days two ships of the Armada entered Blacksod Bay — the merchantmanNuestra Señora de Begoña (750 tons, 297 men) and the transportDuquesa Santa Ana (900 tons, 23 guns, 357 men). De Leyva and his 600 men boardedDuquesa Santa Ana.Nuestra Señora de Begoña sailed straight forSantander, Spain, arriving some time later.Duquesa Santa Ana, however, was somewhat damaged and it was decided to sail north for Scotland. Stormy weather soon hitDuquesa Santa Ana and she was grounded in Loughros Bay in Donegal, with all aboard reaching shore in what was friendly territory.
De Leyva, who had been seriously injured by a capstan, pitched camp on the shore of the bay for nine days, until news came of another ship of the fleet, the galleassGirona, which had anchored inKillybegs harbour while two other ships had been lost on attempting to enter the harbour. With the assistance of an Irish chieftain, MacSweeney Bannagh,Girona was repaired and set sail in mid-October with 1,300 men on board, including de Leyva.Lough Foyle was cleared, but then a gale struck andGirona was driven ashore atDunluce in modernCounty Antrim. There were nine survivors, who were sent on to Scotland bySorley Boy MacDonnell; 260 bodies were washed ashore.
Aran Islands: Two ships were sighted off theAran Islands: one failed to land a party in hard weather, and it is not known what became of them.
Antrim: The single greatest loss of life occurred upon the wreck of the galleassGirona on the coast of Antrim after she had taken on board many survivors from other ships wrecked on the coast of Connacht (see Ulster, above).
Between 17 and 24 ships of the Grand Armada were lost on the Irish coast, accounting for about one-third of the fleet's total loss of 63, with the loss of about 6,000 men.[33]
By the end of September 1588 Fitzwilliam was able to report to the Queen's secretary,Lord Burghley, that the Armada alarm was over. Soon after, he reckoned that only about 100 survivors remained in the country. In1596, an envoy ofPhilip II arrived in Ireland to make inquiries of survivors and was successful in only eight cases.
Following the failure of the Armada theEnglish sent their own fleet against the Iberian peninsula, but failed to press home their advantage and returned with tremendous losses. At the height of theAnglo-Spanish War sent theirfinal Armada consisting of 4,500 troops in the south of Ireland to assist the Ulster rebel leaderHugh O'Neill, during theNine Years' War (1594–1603). This expedition also failed, and Spain and England concluded a peace in1604.
By the time of the peace the Spanish had restored their dominance at sea, and treasure from the New World was flowing in to their Royal Treasury at an increased rate. Elizabeth's successorJames I neglected his fleet and chose to secure crown influence in Ireland: in1607 the lords of Gaelic Ulsterfled to the continent, and theEnglish conquest of Ireland was largely completed on the seizure and colonisation of their territories in thePlantation of Ulster in1610.
There is a myth that the Spanish Armada left descendants in Ireland, however research has discredited such claims.[34][better source needed]
The first salvage attempts were made within months, on the coast of County Clare byGeorge Carew, who complained[citation needed] at the expense "of sustaining the divers with copious draughts of usequebaugh" [Uisce Beatha - Irish for whiskey].
Sorley Boy MacDonnell recovered three brass cannon and two chests of treasure from the wreck ofGirona.
In 1797 a quantity of lead and some brass guns were raised from the wreck of an unknown Armada ship at Mullaghderg in County Donegal. Two miles further south, in 1853, an anchor was recovered from another unknown Armada wreck.[35]
The Grainuaile Suite (1985), an orchestral treatment of the life of the Irish sea-queenGráinne O'Malley by Irish composerShaun Davey, contains a lament on the Spanish landings in Ireland, sung byRita Connolly.
The wrecking ofLa Girona was commemorated in illustrations of the Armada and the Antrim coast which appear on the reverse side ofsterling banknotes issued by theFirst Trust Bank inNorthern Ireland.
The final published novel ofAnthony Burgess,Byrne: A Novel, features a protagonist who is specifically stated to be descended from Spanish survivors who remained in Ireland.
The Luck of the Irish andDarby O'Gill and the Little People are American films that make reference to the wrecking of the Spanish armada as an explanation forleprechauns having pots of gold.
The Spanish-Portuguese co-produced short animated filmThe Monkey (2021), influenced by the story ofThe Hartlepool Monkey, focuses on the treatment of the Spanish shipwrecked on Irish shores. The film, which starsColm Meaney won theGoya, for bestBest Animated Short Film in2021.[36]
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