Last weekend in Valladolid, Spain, a commemorative funeral procession was held for Red Hugh O’Donnell, the Irish leader interred at a nearby monastery in 1602. The event marked the partnership between the Irish Confederacy of Gaelic lords, represented by the O’Donnell and O’Neill families, and the Spanish forces, who were jointly opposing the English at the time.
In 1602, a failed rescue mission by the Spanish, designed to support the Irish, saw devastating defeat at the Battle of Kinsale. The Spanish troops, approximately 2,500 in number, were cornered within the town’s walls by English forces. Red Hugh O’Donnell escaped to Spain but tragically died in September of that same year. He had been seeking a second consultation with King Philip III hoping to convince him to deploy another military campaign to Ireland.
The yearly memorial, now in its third consecutive year, serves both as a tribute to the historical bonds between Spain and Ireland and as a reminder of the harsher elements of this shared history. Several of these darker episodes were discussed in detail at a conference on the Spanish Armada that took place in Grange, in County Sligo, over the weekend.
Around twenty-four Spanish Armada vessels were lost off the Irish coast as part of an endeavor to circle around Scotland and Ireland. This circuitous route was chosen to dodge a showdown with the English navy in the English Channel. The National Moments Service, together with its Spanish equivalent, held a conference to discuss ongoing efforts to salvage three of these wrecks: the La Juliana, the La Lavia and the Santa Maria de Visón, all of which met their fate at Streedagh Beach in County Sligo in September 1588.
In the aftermath of the Armada, approximately 3,000 Spanish soldiers were captured, with 1,600 of these prisoners found in Ireland. According to Spanish author Petro Luis Chinchilla, around 1,100 of these captives were executed outright in Ireland.
The book entitled “Los Prisioneros de la Armada Invencible” (The Prisoners of the Invincible Armada) by an unknown author, shared the individual accounts of the Spanish prisoners for the first time. This captivating tale was presented to Irish tourists at Simancas Castle last weekend.
Prisoners captured in England, Scotland or what is present-day Netherlands were generally treated with kindness. They were either saved through monetary exchange or sent back to Spain or Spanish Netherlands. However, those that were stranded on Irish shores met with a dismal end.
In that period, Ireland had a meagre English military presence, with just about a thousand soldiers. Lord Deputy William FitzWilliam and Lord President Richard Bingham, fearing an insurmountable opposition from the prisoners, ordered their systematic execution. Galway Gaol and Drogheda Gaol became the sites of several deaths, with some remaining unescorted to these prisons.
Around 300 men from the ship, La Trinidad Valencera, that was marooned near the Inishowen Peninsula were ruthlessly killed after they surrendered. This brutal act was orchestrated by English and Irish soldiers under the leadership of Richard and Henry Hovenden. This occurred in the territory belonging to the father of Red Hugh, Hugh snr. It’s asserted that this atrocity took place with the blessing of Hugh snr and his wife, Inión Dubh.
Other clans including the O’Malleys of Clare Island and the Burkes of Ardnaree in Mayo participated actively in these mass killings. However, there were instances of mercy as well. For instance, Brian O’Rourke of Co Leitrim provided assistance to the Spanish and unfortunately, he was later executed in London.
One of these victims, a sailor named Antonio de Ulloa y Sandoval from Cordoba, was portrayed in the book. He sought that Masses be held for his soul from his cell in Galway Gaol after being denied paper to pen his will.
The Spanish Armada and its tragic fate in Ireland has been resurrected in contemporary historical studies. Michael Barry, a historian, has also highlighted the Emeral Island’s Spanish Armada in his recent publication, “1588 The Spanish Armada and the 24 Ships Lost on Ireland’s Shores.”
The suggestion was made that the Spanish found themselves at the mercy of a peculiar blend of avarice, self-preservation and personal gain implemented by the Gaelic lords along Ireland’s isolated coastal areas, under the increasing control of the Tudor regime.
Mr Barry asserted that during the period of British colonisation, Ireland functioned as a testing ground for the English to refine their brutal methods of conquering and colonising that would later serve them well during their colonisation of North America. The possibility of progress lured merciless individuals to grasp the reins of authority.