Girona (ship)
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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.
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[edit] 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, including Alonso 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.
[edit] Salvage
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. [1] The Girona’s recovered gold jewellery is on show in the Ulster Museum in Belfast.
The wrecksite was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act on 22 April 1993.
