2014 – Page 14 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

La Girona IV

The fate of La Girona

July 26, 2020July 26, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

Today’s exploration of the Ulster Museum permanent exhibit “Treasures from the Girona” begins with the account of a survivor.

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Irish were sympathetic to the Spanish castaways

He was extremely fortunate to escape with his life. After Calais, the attack of the English fireships, the Spanish ships suffered repeated North Atlantic storms, driven onto the irregular coast of which they had no knowledge or charts. It was with the assistance of Irish natives the survivors were able to regroup and embark on an ill-fated escape.

The reason for the heavy losses from the Girona wreck was the crew from several other ruined ships were on board.

The individuality of the lost comes across through their gold trimmings. It is said that wealthy Spaniards owned up to four sets of gold buttons, each with a different design.

To be continued….. (Click for the first post of this series)

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La Girona III

A Disaster Examined

July 25, 2020July 26, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

In this post we explore further, using my photographs of the Ulster Museum exhibit “Treasures from the Girona”, how the Spanish galleass La Girona came to be wrecked on the north coast of Ireland. It was not the only ship lost. Of the 130 armada ships, a third (43) did not return.

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Religion was the crux, Catholic Spain wanted to forestall Queen Elizabeth I’s establishment of Protestantism initiated by her father King Henry VII.

This placard displays treasure. The text implies it was not recovered from La Girona. The bronze medallion was struck by the Dutch in commemoration of the victory.

To be continued….. (Click for the first post of this series)

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La Girona II

Historical Background to the wreck of La Girona

July 24, 2020July 26, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

Pam and I woke early on June 8 for that 138 mile drive to my cousin’s farm on the Cooley peninsula, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. Learning the day before, from the Giants Causeway visitor center, of treasure recovered from a shipwreck off that coast, we planned to visit Belfast, where the Ulster Museum has a permanent exhibit, “Treasures from the Girona”. This is just a taste of the historical provided by this excellent exhibit….if you visit Northern Ireland make time to visit the Ulster Museum.

In this post we explore, using my photographs of the museum exhibits, how the Spanish galleass La Girona came to be in the North Atlantic off the Irish coast. The ship was part of a fleet supporting an invasion of England from Flanders.

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Religion was the crux, Catholic Spain wanted to forestall Queen Elizabeth I’s establishment of Protestantism initiated by her father King Henry VII and support of Dutch protestants against Spain. State sponsored piracy of Spanish ships was a secondary justification.

To be continued….. (Click for the first post of this series)

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La Girona I

Shipwreck!!!

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 MichaelStephenWills17 Comments

Seen here on the afternoon of June 6, 2014 against the foreground of Giants Causeway pavement stones, Lacada Point is where on the morning of October 26, 1588 the Spanish galleass “La Girona” foundered and sank at Port na Spaniagh (the bay to the east of the point). Five souls of the 1,300 on board survived the wreck.

Our time at the Giants Causeway visitor center yielded this new fact. While it was only Pam who ventured close to the Lacada Point, the following day we were able to view the treasure recovered from the site 379 years later. A portion is on permanent display at the Ulster Museum, Belfast. We visited “Treasures from the Girona” the following day.

To be continued…..

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Stealing a Shot

Father and Daughter

July 18, 2020June 30, 2020 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

These people clambered up for a shot while I was set up to capture the scene at the perfect light. They wasted my precious moments of light. Luckily, I managed captures while the child was out of sight, shared in yesterday’s post. These photos were accepted by Getty as “editorial” content.

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Giant’s Chair

at sunset

July 17, 2020June 30, 2020 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Here is a formation seemingly created to capture the human imagination. I spent time attempting to get it right. At one point, the setting sun emerged from the clouds to light the scene.

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Pam’s Views of the Causeway V

Baby-Finn

July 16, 2020June 27, 2020 MichaelStephenWills1 Comment

For Pam’s return trip I recall a favorite episode of Finn McCool’s, the mythical hunter-warrior associated with the Giant’s Causeway. Fearing a match with an opponent sure to defeat him, Finn relied on the wits of his wife, Oona, who dressed him up as a baby. She made griddle cakes, hiding an iron skillet in one or two. The giant, given the iron cakes, suffered broken teeth. Baby-Finn wolfed his cakes down. Overawed, the giant fled back to Scotland, fearing to face the man who’d grow from a baby such as that, tearing up the road (The Giant’s Causeway) behind him, to prevent Finn from following.

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