- Girona (ship)
"La Girona" was a galleass of the 1588 Spanish Armada which foundered and sank off
Lacada Point ,County Antrim ,Ireland , on the night of 26 October 1588 after making its way eastward along the Irish coast. The wreck is noteworthy for the loss of life that resulted, and for the treasures since recovered.The shipwreck
The "Girona" had anchored in
Killybegs harbour while two other ships had been lost on attempting to enter the harbour. With the assistance of an Irish chieftain,MacSweeney Bannagh , the "Girona" was repaired and set sail in mid-October with 1,300 men on board, includingAlonso Martinez de Leyva .Lough Foyle was cleared, but then a gale struck and the "Girona" was driven ashore at Dunluce in County Antrim,Northern Ireland on the night of 26 October 1588.There were 9 survivors, who were sent on to Scotland by
Sorley Boy MacDonnell ; 260 bodies were washed ashore.alvage
The first salvage attempts of the "Girona" were made within months by Sir
George Carew , who complained at the expense of "sustaining the divers with copious draughts of usequebaugh [whiskey] ".Sorley Boy MacDonnell recovered 3
brass cannon and 2 chests of treasure from the wreck.In 1967 and 1968, off the coast of
Portballintrae a team of Belgian divers brought up the greatest find of Spanish Armada treasure ever recovered from a wrecked ship. [http://www.colerainebc.gov.uk/show.php?id=136] The "Girona"’s recovered gold jewellery is on show in theUlster Museum inBelfast .The wrecksite was designated under the
Protection of Wrecks Act on22 April 1993 .ee also
*
Spanish Armada in Ireland References
* [http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=16&to=340&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland]
* [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/ACHWS_annual_report_2005.pdf Annual Report of the Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks, 2005]External links
* [http://www.northantrim.com/girona_tribute.htm "Girona" Tribute]
* [http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk/the-collections/world-cultures/armada/ Gold of the "Girona"]
* [http://www.andymcinroy.com/ir387.htm Photograph of Lacada Point where the Girona foundered]
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