Girona (ship)


La Girona was a galleass of the 1588 Spanish Armada that foundered and sank off Lacada Point, County Antrim, on the night of 26 October 1588, after making its way eastward along the Northern Irish coast. The wreck is noteworthy for the great loss of life that resulted, and the treasures recovered.

Introduction

La Girona was named after the Girones family, who at the time had just become Dukes of Osuna and viceroys of Naples; thus it is not to be confused with Girona, the Catalan name of the city and province of Gerona in Spain. Its captain was Hugo de Moncada y Gralla, knight of the Order of Malta.

Shipwreck

La Girona had anchored in Killybegs harbour, Donegal, with a damaged rudder. With the assistance of an Irish chieftain, MacSweeney Bannagh, she was repaired and set sail for Scotland on 25 October, with 1,300 men on board, including Alonso Martínez de Leyva, knight and :es:Orden_de_Santiago#Los_Treces|trece of the Order of Santiago.
After Lough Foyle was cleared, a gale struck and La Girona was driven on to Lacada Point and the Spanish Rocks in County Antrim, on the night of 26 October 1588. Of the estimated 1300 souls on board, there were nine survivors. 260 bodies washed ashore and were buried in a common grave at the local churchyard.
The survivors were sent on to Scotland by the local clan leader Sorley Boy MacDonnell of Dunluce Castle, which was situated just to the west on the Giant's Causeway cliffs overlooking the coast. From there, MacDonnell is also believed to have conducted the first clandestine salvage efforts on the shipwreck.

Salvage

In 1967-68, off the coast of Portballintrae, a team of Belgian divers, located the remains of the wreck and brought up the greatest find of Spanish Armada treasure ever salvaged. The underwater site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 22 April 1993.

Commemoration

The wrecking of La Girona is officially commemorated with a period illustration on the reverse side of sterling banknotes issued by the First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland.

Ulster Museum Exhibit, Belfast

"Treasures from the Girona"
Gold and silver coins, jewelry, armaments, and utilitarian objects from the Spanish galleass, Girona, are on permanent display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast.