Streedagh Armada wrecksite facts for kids

The Streedagh Armada wrecksite is where three ships from the Spanish Armada sank. This famous site is located off Streedagh beach in north County Sligo, in northwest Ireland. The three ships were named La Lavia, La Juliana, and the Santa Maria de Visón. All three were part of the Levant squadron, a group of ships within the larger Armada fleet. The Lavia was a very important ship, acting as the vice-flagship.

Finding the Sunken Ships

After a lot of research that took over three years, a team from England found the wrecksite on May 6, 1985. This team was called the Streedagh Strand Armada Group. Later, there was a legal fight over who owned the rights to explore the wrecks. Today, these wrecks are protected by Irish laws. This means no one can dive on them without special permission from the Irish government.

The Story of the Ships

The three ships, La Lavia, La Juliana, and Santa Maria de Visón, sailed from Lisbon on May 29, 1588. They were part of the Spanish Armada, a huge fleet sent by Spain to invade England. These ships were large merchant vessels, meaning they were built for carrying goods. They were used to transport soldiers and equipment for the planned invasion.

The Levant squadron had 10 ships in total. They carried 767 sailors and 2,780 soldiers. The Lavia was from Venice, the Juliana from Barcelona, and the Santa Maria de Visón from Ragusa (now Dubrovnik).

These ships were carracks, which were big sailing ships with large cargo areas. This made them good for carrying lots of people and supplies.

• The Santa Maria de Visón had 18 guns and carried 70 sailors and 236 soldiers. It weighed about 666 tons. This ship might have been used as a hospital ship.
• La Lavia was the vice-flagship. It had 25 guns, 71 sailors, and 271 soldiers. It weighed about 728 tons.
• The Juliana was built in 1570. It had 32 guns, 65 crew members, and 290 soldiers. It weighed about 860 tons. This ship might have carried heavy cannons and tools for attacking forts. Cannons found at the site match those from the Juliana.

In total, these three ships carried at least 807 soldiers and 206 sailors. This means over 1,000 people were likely on board when the ships sank.

The Terrible Storm

The ships had already been damaged in battles in the English Channel. They also had to cut their main anchors loose during a fight with English fireships. These problems, plus the fact that these large carracks were not good at sailing against strong winds, made them very weak. They were not built for the rough waters of the North Atlantic.

A strong storm hit them near the coast of Cairbre (now County Sligo). On September 17, the ships dropped anchor about 2 miles from shore, hoping to survive the storm. But on September 21, the storm got much worse. The wind changed direction, hitting the ships broadside. The anchor cables broke, and the ships were pushed onto the shore. They quickly broke apart.

A survivor named Francisco de Cuellar described the disaster:

..and not being able to weather round or double Cape Clear, in Ireland, on account of the severe storm which arose upon the bow, he was forced to make for the land with these three ships, which, as I say, were of the largest size, and to anchor more than half a league from the shore, where we remained for four days without being able to make any provision, nor could it even be made. On the fifth day there sprang up so great a storm on our beam, with a sea up to the heavens, so that the cables could not hold nor the sails serve us, and we were driven ashore with all three ships upon a beach, covered with very fine sand, shut in on one side and the other by great rocks. The likes of this had never been seen for, within the hour, our three ships broke up completely, with less than three hundred men surviving. Over a thousand drowned among them many important people, captains, gentlemen and regular officers....many men drowned inside the ships, while others jumped into the water never to come up again

—Captain Francisco de Cuellar

Only about 300 men survived. More than a thousand people drowned.

Exploring the Wrecksite

The wrecksite has three main areas, called sites 1, 2, and 3, located roughly parallel to the shore. Experts believe the wrecks are very well preserved. This includes both organic materials and parts of the ships' wooden hulls. More digs happened in 2015 after wooden pieces were found on the shore. So far, nine cannons have been found from the wreck of the Juliana.

Site 1: The Juliana

Site 1 is located near the center of the beach. It covers an area of about 165 meters by 40 meters. The water depth here is between 3.8 and 5.2 meters. Three guns found here belong to the La Juliana, so this is thought to be her wrecksite. In 1985, three bronze guns were found here.

In 2015, storms uncovered the wreck again. Divers recovered nine more guns, a gun carriage wheel, and a large pot. Several of these guns have the date 1570 on them, which matches when the Juliana was built. One gun even shows signs of Turkish making, possibly captured in a battle in 1571.

Site 2: The Santa Maria de Visón

About 390 meters southwest of Site 1, there is another area of interest. This spot is thought to be where the Santa Maria de Visón sank. However, this still needs to be fully confirmed.

Site 3: The Lavia

Another 20 meters southwest of Site 2 is a very large area, about 270 meters by 72 meters. This area has a lot of sand built up because it's protected by a nearby headland. This site is believed to be where the Lavia sank, but it's not completely certain. In 1987, two wooden gun carriages with their bronze guns were found here. One was a new type of carriage not seen before on Spanish ships of that time.

What We Think Happened

Because Site 3 is so large and Site 2 is smaller, it's possible that both the Lavia and Santa Maria de Visón sank close together in the larger area.

A Special Place

The Streedagh wrecksite is very special. It's one of the best-preserved sites of 16th-century ships found near a coast anywhere in the world. Monitoring and surveying of the wrecks continue because the area often experiences strong storms.

Every year, the village of Grange holds a festival to remember this event. In 2018, a new visitors' center opened, telling the story of these shipwrecks.

Another wreck on the beach, sometimes called the "butter boat," was once thought to be from the Armada. However, tests in 2016 showed it was an 18th-century ship. It was later identified as The Greyhound, a trading ship that sank in 1770.

See also

• The Greyhound - a nearby shipwreck from 1770