Spanish Point () is a village in the parish of
Milltown Malbay in
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...
on the west coast of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. It has many holiday homes, and in winter a significantly smaller population. It is also one of the better known surf breaks in County Clare. The name refers to the wrecking of some ships of the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...
off the coast.
[ (archival records)]
History
On the coast, from
Milltown Malbay, Spanish Point was named after the Spanish who died here in 1588, when many ships of the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...
were wrecked during stormy weather. Those who escaped from their sinking ships and made it safely to land were later executed by Sir Turlough O'Brien of
Liscannor and
Boethius Clancy,
High Sheriff of Clare.
It was not known by the English authorities in Ireland whether the Spanish sailed this way around Ireland because their ships were damaged and the storm prevented them from sailing back the quick way or if it was part of a Spanish plan to invade Ireland.
As news of the English victory had not reached
William FitzWilliam, the
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...
, he had issued a blanket command that all Spanish found in Ireland were to be executed with their ships and treasure seized.
The executed Spanish were buried in a mass grave in an area of Spanish Point known locally as Tuama Na Spáinneach (Tomb of the Spaniards). Despite this, there was no archaeological evidence for the claim until 2015 when a group of historians investigating the location of the wreck of ''San Marcos'' stated they had found a mass grave under Spanish Point which contained the bodies of the executed Spanish sailors.
Hotel
Spanish Point is home of the
Atlantic Hotel Atlantic Hotel is the name of many hotels around the world:
Germany
*Hotel Atlantic Kempinski, Hamburg
Ireland
*Atlantic Hotel (Spanish Point, Ireland)
United Kingdom
* Atlantic Hotel (Chelmsford)
* Atlantic Hotel (Glasgow)
* Atlantic Hotel (Je ...
which was built in 1810 and was promoted as the largest hotel in the British Isles. The hotel closed in 1930 as it had relied upon members of the British nobility visiting for income. This was as a result of the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
and subsequent establishment of the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
that dissuaded the wealthy from travelling to Spanish Point.
Sport
Spanish Point has a nine-hole golf course. Spanish Point is home to Spanish Point golf course which at over 110 years old is one of the oldest courses in Ireland.
Golf course Spanish Point
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{County Clare
Towns and villages in County Clare