The tribute in Ireland to the sailors of the Spanish Navy who were shipwrecked in Sligo

@DefAviation ES 9·16·2023 · 22:11 0

There is a town in Ireland that year after year is filled with Spanish flags, both the red and yellow one and the Cross of Burgundy flag.

Touching: This Is How Ireland Honor the Fallen of the Spanish Armada
The homage of a town in Ireland to the sailors of the Spanish Navy who fell there

The reason for these displays of appreciation for Spain goes back several centuries. On September 23, 1588, three ships that were part of the Great Spanish Armada (popularly known as the Invincible Armada, which unsuccessfully attempted an invasion of England) shipwrecked off the beach of Streedagh, in the town of Grange, located in County Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland.

Those three ships were the "Lavia", the "Juliana" and the "Santa María de Visón". They had about 1,100 crew members on board, but there were only a hundred Spanish sailors who managed to survive that shipwreck, which threw them from the sea to a land very far from their homes.

A part of those castaways managed to save their lives thanks to the support of the Irish Catholics in the area, who had put their hopes in that Great Armada to free themselves from the English occupation of their country.

For years, the descendants of those Irish Catholics have remembered that shipwreck and its survivors year after year in the town of Grange and on the beach where those Spanish sailors arrived. And year after year, the Spanish Navy sends a ship to participate in this tribute to its predecessors.

Tribute events for the Spanish castaways are being held this weekend. This year, the Spanish Navy has sent the Patrol Ship "Centinela" P-72, which arrived this Wednesday, September 13, at the port of Killybegs. From there, a delegation of the crew of the Spanish ship has traveled to Sligo.

This Saturday afternoon the traditional "Remembrance Parade", also known as Twilight Parade, was held on Streedagh beach.

Near Streedagh Beach there is a monument to the Spanish shipwrecks of 1588, on which a Spanish Flag permanently flies. It is another of the places where these acts of remembrance take place.

Many thanks, from the bottom of my heart, to the residents of County Sligo who organize this emotional tribute to the Spanish shipwrecked members of the Great Armada every year. It is very moving to see that in another country they have these gestures of remembrance towards our Fallen.

The photos of this event that you can see here have been published by the Twitter accounts of la Armada Española, from Spanish Armada Ireland and by @lagranarmada, which I recommend you follow to see more images of this beautiful tribute.