In 1588, the famous Spanish fleet of the “Invincible Armada”, sent by Philip II of Spain to invade England, was virtually destroyed by a violent storm off the west coast of Ireland. This tragic episode claimed the lives of thousands of Spanish and Portuguese sailors, with hundreds of survivors washing up on Irish shores. A look back at the historic event that linked the destinies of Spain and Ireland.
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The year is 1588. At this time, Philip II, King of Spain, was assembling a fleet of 130 ships and 30,000 men to invade England. His aim: to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and re-establish Catholicism in the country. If he succeeded, it would make Spain the undisputed world power of the time.
Nevertheless, after several skirmishes with the English navy as the Armada advanced through the English Channel, a violent storm off the coast of Ireland brought disaster to the Spanish fleet.
Some 24 ships were wrecked, and thousands of men were thrown overboard or stranded in Ireland.
It is estimated that over 5,000 sailors drowned during the passage of this famous storm, which decimated the Armada. The waves and wind were so violent that even the most seasoned sailors were unable to keep control of their battered vessels.
With this shipwreck, Ireland’s western shores, from County Kerry to Connemara, became the graves of hundreds of Spanish galleons on that sinister day.
Among the ships that sank were the Girona, the Duquesa Santa Ana and the Trinidad Valencera.
Some of the ship’s wreckage and treasures have been found by underwater archaeologists, testifying even today to the scale of the disaster suffered by the invincible Armada.
Although the majority of the men of the Invincible Armada perished at sea, between 1,500 and 2,400 Spanish sailors are thought to have survived by running aground on the coast of western Ireland.
They were either captured and executed by order of the English Crown, or aided by local clan chiefs such as Gráinne Ní Mháille. The Irish, mostly Catholics and victims of massacres ordered by the English, wanted to come to the aid of these shipwrecked sailors… considering the Spanish as their allies and friends.
One theory, now disproved, is that some of these survivors, nicknamed “Los Gantemalos” by the locals, mixed with the population of small, isolated coastal villages and married Irish women. From these unusual unions were born the famous “Black Irish“, with darker-than-average hair and eyes, inheriting Spanish and Portuguese features.
A concept now denied by science and historians.
The consequences of the sinking of the Invincible Armada off the Irish coast in 1588 were catastrophic:
So all in all, of the 30,000 sailors and soldiers sent by Philip II to conquer England, over 20,000 perished on this disastrous voyage, mainly as a result of shipwreck off the coast of Ireland. It was one of Europe’s greatest maritime disasters of the 16th century.
From Kinsale to Dingle, via the Beara Peninsula, the Irish coastline is dotted with numerous sites still bearing the traces of this tragic episode. At Dún an Óir near Smerwick Harbour in County Kerry, you can still see the ruins of the fort where hundreds of survivors of the Armada were massacred after their surrender.
Connemara is also full of small villages where the Spanish influence in culture and traditional music is testimony to the presence of these survivors. To learn more about this fascinating episode in Irish history linked to the fate of the Spanish crown, a visit to the west of Ireland is a must!
So, almost 500 years after the shipwreck, the tragic episode of the broken destinies of the Invincible Armada and its thousands of sailors remains engraved in Irish and Spanish memories. It’s been the inspiration for many tales and legends, combining history and mythology!
