Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connaught & Ulster A.D. 1588.: To Which Is Added an Introduction and Complete Translation of Captain Cuellar's Narrative of the Spanish Armada and His Adventures in IrelandAllingham, Hugh
History
Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connaught & Ulster A.D. 1588.: To Which Is Added an Introduction and Complete Translation of Captain Cuellar's Narrative of the Spanish Armada and His Adventures in Ireland
Allingham, Hugh
Armada, 1588
In Western Tirconnell is a cluster of islands which, collectively, are
called _The Rosses_. About four and a half miles north-west of
Mullaghderg are the "Spanish Stags" or "Enchanted Ships." On this wild
and rocky coast, abounding in shoals and sunken rocks, one of the
Spanish ships was cast away. Here lies buried in the sand the remains of
one of them. A little more than a century ago, an expedition of young
men, whose imagination was heated by the traditional accounts of buried
treasure, set out in a boat to the Spanish rock, and being good divers
and expert swimmers, they succeeded in reaching the wreck. They got on
the upper deck, and were able by great effort and perseverance to
recover a quantity of lead: they raised a number of brass guns, some of
which were 10 feet long. These were broken up and sold as scrap metal at
4½d. per lb. The iron guns, of which they found a number, were left
in the water. This vessel, tradition says, was a treasure ship; at all
events, a number of Spanish gold coins were found, and were in existence
some years ago. The brass cannon which were found bore the Spanish arms.
It is said some of the Spaniards from this vessel escaped to land, and
spent the rest of their lives amongst the Irish in The Rosses.
[Illustration: Anchor recovered from the wreck of one of the
SHIPS of the SPANISH.ARMADA off the coast of DONEGAL.
Presented by Cap'n Omma.]
In the spring of 1895, an attempt was made to search for the remains of
this ship. A small steamer, called the _Harbour Lights_, visited the
spot, and remained for a fortnight, but without being able to accomplish
anything. Owing to the accumulation of sand, which now covers the wreck,
there are great obstacles in the way of reaching it. At about a distance
of two miles to the south of the "Spanish Rock" another vessel was
wrecked, in the Bay of Castlefort, inside of the North Island of Aran.
In 1853, the coastguards at Rutland, under the superintendence of their
chief officer, Mr. Richard Heard, and at the instance of Admiral Sir
Erasmus Ommanney, C.B., who was on a tour of inspection in that year,
had their attention directed to the wreck. The search was rewarded by
the recovery of a fine anchor, which was forthwith transmitted to
London, and presented by the Admiral to the United Service Institution,
Whitehall Place. Through the kindness of Sir Erasmus Ommanney, an
engraving[11] of this interesting relic is presented, and the writer is
also indebted to him for the particulars of the discovery of the anchor.
A portion of one of the brass cannon recovered from the _Girona_ was in
Castlecaldwell Museum, till the collection was disposed of. The fine
figurehead of one of the ships wrecked off Streedagh, which is shown on
the first page, is the only existing specimen in Ireland. In the Parish
Church of Carndonagh is a bell, which tradition says was recovered from
an Armada vessel wrecked at Inishowen. It bears the following legend:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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