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Chapter 2: The Invasion

The Spanish hammer fell on Port Láirge. Then Ireland's second city, known to the English as Waterford, Port Láirge was still staunchly Catholic, and not heavily garrisoned. The city surrendered almost immediately, though not before riders were dispatched to warn Dublin. Many in the city, particularly the Irish residents, greeted the Spanish as liberators.

Over the next two days, as Spanish troops and supplies were unloaded, Medina Sidonia and his commanders met in Reginald's Tower to plan the campaign and occupation of Ireland. He had already been provisionally appointed Governor-General of Ireland in King Philip's name, and declared Port Láirge as the temporary capital of Spanish Ireland. His second in command, Juan Martínez de Recalde, would take command of the Armada itself, and was ordered to interdict any landing of English reinforcements. De Recalde kept the main force at Port Láirge, but sent the Squadron of Castile under Diego Flores de Valdés to blockade Dublin. Don Hugo de Moncada took the four Neapolitan galleasses to keep watch on Liverpool, in case the English tried to send reinforcements from there. Finally, Miguel de Oquendo took his ships west, both to blockade Cork and to support Gráinne O'Malley's liberation of western Ireland. Medina Sidonia ordered all of his commanders to "act as proper Christians towards His Majesty's Irish subjects, and to treat all Irish lords, chiefs, and nobles with the dignity and respect that befits their rank". To that end, he recruited several Irish priests to form the core of his new bureaucracy, translating government decrees into Gaelic, and establishing what would become an important precedent in the government of Ireland.

O'Malley was already on the move. Her galleys had entered the River Shannon, and by August 1 were threatening Athlone, seat of Sir Richard Bingham, governor of Connacht and a longtime foe of O'Malley. O'Malley's forces were soon joined by those of Cormac O'Hara, lord of Luighne Connacht. Together, they sacked Athlone, killing Bingham and shattering English power in Connacht. O'Malley returned to her family seat at Clare Island to find Oquendo himself there. Famously, the two instantly took a liking to each other. Oquendo wrote highly of her, and eagerly sought to coordinate their maneuvers, taking advantage of O'Malley's superior knowledge of local conditions. He also supplied cannon and arms to O'Hara's forces on land. With the other lords of Connacht rising in support, the Hiberno-Spanish forces advanced south into Munster. They met little resistance from the English settlers, and laid siege to Cork on August 9. Despite being a Catholic city, Cork held out against the enemy, as much from fear of O'Malley as from the Spanish.

In England, the mood was one of panic. The Catholic uprisings had not yet been put down, and now there was a very real fear of Irish troops landing to support them. Elizabeth considered ordering the Earl of Leicester to take his army to Plymouth and depart for Ireland, but was dissuaded by her advisors. While Drake's fleet could probably break the blockade of Dublin, it was not entirely clear if the English army could defeat both the Spanish forces and the Irish rebels - and if the English army was engaged in Ireland, there would be little to stop the Spanish army in Flanders should it cross anyway. Elizabeth reached out to any possible allies, including Scotland, Denmark, and Sweden.

Back in Port Láirge, Maestre Francisco Arias de Bobadilla, the senior army officer with the expedition, was agitating to march quickly on Dublin. Medina Sidonia, however, delayed until preparations were more in order. In particular, he wanted to ensure that he could hold Port Láirge against an attack by the English fleet at Plymouth. He only gave Bobadilla leave to depart on August 14. Bobadilla moved his army north along the Leinster coast, reaching the Pale on August 19. The inhabitants of the Pale had largely assimilated into Irish culture, but the English authorities in Dublin enacted a scorched-earth policy. All food that could not be brought into the city was burned, along with the fields - and often villages - of the Pale. The English garrison in Dublin had no illusions about their ability to hold off the Spanish army on their own. Their hopes lay in the English fleet at Plymouth. If the English army could be brought onto Irish soil, the Spanish might be yet driven out. The arrival of Turlough Luineach O'Neill and his "Army of Ulster" on August 22, however, brought renewed despair. It became clear that virtually all of Ireland was in enemy hands. And as Diego Flores de Valdés tightened the blockade of Dublin Harbor, communication with England became nearly impossible.

Worse, the sudden crowding of people and livestock within Dublin brought what was perhaps inevitable - plague. Among those who fell ill was Sir William FitzWilliam, Lord Deputy of Ireland. Fearing a sack of Dublin, and aware of the increasingly hopeless situation, he made an offer to Bobadilla to surrender the city in return for the English troops in Dublin being allowed to return to England. Bobadilla, mindful of Medina Sidonia's orders, accepted. But on September 13, just as Bobadilla's reply was on its way back to the city, FitzWilliam died. Worse, a rumor spread that he had been murdered by Robert Gardiner, the Lord Justice of Ireland in order to orchestrate the surrender, and when Gardiner opened the gates to receive the Spanish forces, Archbishop Adam Loftus denounced him as a traitor and led troops to block the Spanish entry. Outraged by what he saw as English treachery, O'Neill's forces stormed the gate, turning what should have been an orderly surrender into a sack. Both Loftus and Gardiner were killed in the fighting. Despite the efforts of Bobadilla to maintain control of the situation, most of Dublin was burned to the ground, possibly as a result of funeral pyres getting out of control. Even Dublin Castle was badly damaged when its powder stores caught fire and exploded, destroying most of the records of the English administration.

The fall of Dublin was enough to persuade Cork to surrender. On September 22, 1588, Miguel de Oquendo, Gráinne O'Malley, and Cormac O'Hara entered the city, putting an end to all serious English resistance in Ireland. Many, particularly the Irish, celebrated this as an unalloyed victory. Pope Sixtus renewed his declaration confirming King Philip as King of Ireland. Medina Sidonia's letter to Philip, however, was more restrained, mourning the destruction of Dublin. He had planned to move his own headquarters to Dublin as soon as possible, but held off doing so, instead taking over St. Martin's Castle to serve an expanding administration. Dublin would be eventually rebuilt, but Port Láirge's status as Ireland's new permanent capital was now official.

Once again, the Spanish commanders met in Port Láirge, now joined by the Irish nobles. Ireland was won, but this was only the first step. A new campaign needed to be planned: the invasion of England…