Some Survivors of the Armada in Ireland

Extract

Of the great fleet of 130 sail that left Corunna for England on July 12, 1588, 65 vessels, exactly one-half, perished. At least 32 of these foundered with all hands in the wild gales of the North Atlantic, where, when, and how will now never be revealed. Of the remaining 33, two were lost on the Hebrides, but no particulars are known, two were disabled and abandoned in the Channel, five were subsequently lost on the coast of France, two were crippled in the fighting in the North Sea and drifted on to the Dutch coast, one was lost at Bigbury Bay, Devon, and two perished on their return to Spain. Full particulars of all these ships except those lost on the Hebrides are known. The remaining 19 vessels were wrecked off the Orkneys and the rugged coast of Ireland. At what places and under what circumstances most of them perished has never yet been satisfactorily established. This is not surprising, for several reasons. It will be seen that most of the places mentioned in the Irish State Papers as the scenes of wrecks are not identifiable on modern maps, not only the names of villages but the names and divisions of districts and counties having been greatly changed. It will be seen, also, that the somewhat meagre reports sent by the Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam, and the Presidents of the provinces, are vague as to the localities of the wrecks, and in nearly every case are silent as to the names of the ships.