alternatehistory.com

The Spanish Armada had failed in its primary objective, but England's strategic situation was still vulnerable. The Armada was still a capable fighting force, and Spain still held Ireland. The possibility of a repeat attempt remained. Elizabeth considered the possibility of launching a direct raid on Spain itself, with the hope of installing António, Prior of Crato, as King of Portugal [1], but decided that retaking Ireland was more important.

At minimum, the objective of the English forces was the destruction of the Spanish fleet repairing at Port Láirge. However, this would assume secondary importance to the recapture of Ireland. Sir Francis Drake proposed a naval strike upon Port Láirge, similar to last year’s victory at Dunkirk, followed by landing troops. Sir John Norris favored a landing at the lightly defended Dublin. Eventually (and, according to legend, at the suggestion of Queen Elizabeth) they compromised. Drake would lead a raid on Port Láirge, both to damage the Spanish fleet and to distract them from the real landing at Tramore. The English army under Norris would then march on Port Láirge and lay siege to the city.

Financing the English Armada proved tricky. Negotiations with the Dutch nearly fell through, as they felt that English troops would be of more service helping to liberate the Low Countries than invading and then occupying a hostile Ireland. Eventually, the Dutch agreed to provide one eighth of the funds required, but did not supply ships. However, the time spent preparing for the Spanish Armada had left the English with a fairly capable force, one that could easily have brushed aside the Spanish troops carried on the Armada itself had they sought to land without the reinforcements from the Low Countries. Sir John Norris was justifiably confident that he could overcome the battered Spanish garrison.

On May 7, 1590, Sir Francis Drake led his squadron to raid Port Láirge. The attack did not quite go as planned, as Drake was engaged by the guns of Fort Philip and Fort St. Patrick at the mouth of the harbor. This drew the attention of the ships docked there, and a few captains (without any orders to do so) rushed their ships out to meet the English. However, the wind was with the English, and Drake chose this moment to release his fireships. The Spanish captains scattered, successfully avoiding the fireships… but completely failing to stop them. Most of the ships at anchor were destroyed, as was part of the waterfront. Critically, this included a large portion of the galleons of the Spanish Armada. The combat power of the Spanish in British waters had just been greatly reduced. However, this came at a price. Drake’s duel with the forts (as immortalized in William Barry’s famous painting) cost him three ships, and those that survived had taken heavy casualties.

While Drake engaged Port Láirge, Sir John Norris and his troops landed at Tramore under the cover of darkness (and the guns of Admiral Howard’s fleet). At that time, Tramore was a small fishing hamlet and offered no serious resistance (although a rider was dispatched to Port Láirge). It took less than a day for Norris’ army to reach Port Láirge.

But Drake and Norris had miscalculated. For not all of the Spanish ships in Ireland were at Port Láirge. By now, in fact, most of the ships at Port Láirge were those still needing repairs. Ships that were in better condition had been stationed at harbors throughout Ireland. The largest contingents were the galleys at Dublin and the galleons at Galway. While Governor-General Miguel de Oquendo prepared his troops, he sent word to the rest of the island, calling for reinforcements.

Oquendo was not a fool. Pitting the 6,000 soldiers he had in Port Láirge against 15,000 English troops in open battle was hopeless. But while the English had been preparing their Armada, Oquendo had not been idle. Port Láirge now boasted strong fortifications, and the city lay far enough inland that Drake couldn’t have brought the English fleet’s guns to bear even if he tried. Instead of a decisive battle, Norris settled in for a siege… after he seized Fort Philip and its cannons, to supplement his own meager artillery.

The siege would not last long. While there were relatively few Spanish troops in Ireland, the Irish had continued to raise their own troops. Turlough O’Neill, High Chief of Tyrone, had already raised 8,000 men in Ulster. As he marched south along the coast, then along the River Barrow, more flocked to his banner. A smaller force under High Chief Brian O’Rourke of West Briefne [2] arrived at Galway, and joined with the O’Connor/O’Hara forces already gathered there, forming the “Regiment of Connacht”. They took ship to Cork.

On May 14, Grainne O’Malley led the Squadron of Ireland in an attack on the English ships anchored in Tramore Bay. The attack was swiftly repulsed, but it was little more then a feint. While O’Malley’s galleys engaged the English, the transports (many of which were coastal luggers and fishing boats) slipped into Waterford Harbour. Fort St. Patrick, on the eastern shore of Waterford Harbour [3], was still under Spanish/Irish control, and covered the Regiment of Connacht as they came ashore. They were joined two days later by Tyrone and his “Regiment of Ulster”. Together, the Irish forces numbered around 18,000 men.

Norris had discounted the Irish previously, but the forces now assembling north of Belle Lake were clearly better organized than those he had fought before, and the combined enemy forces outnumbered his considerably. But there was still one chance. If he could break the Irish before they joined with the Spanish, he might still be able to take Port Láirge.

So on May 17, the English forces pulled out of their fieldworks outside Port Láirge. Initially, they marched south, but then wheeled east. There was no time for much subtlety. Norris had to hit the Irish as quickly as possible. He caught the Irish at perhaps an opportune moment – their leaders were squabbling over who should be in command of the combined force. Ultimately, Tyrone won by virtue of having more men, and they mounted a hasty defense. However, the Irish had managed to get their artillery into position, so even before the command dispute was resolved, English troops came under fire from Irish cannons, slowing their advance.

During this time, Miguel de Oquendo was not idle. He could watch the English army maneuvering, and as soon as he saw them turn east, he knew that they meant to attack the Irish. A sortie was quickly organized.

The Battle of Belle Lake has been depicted in a number of films. Almost every time, the Spanish sortie is represented as a glorious cavalry charge smashing into the English lines, bringing a decisive victory to the battle. In truth, the sortie was an infantry charge, and they never got into close combat with the main English force. Once Norris spotted the Spanish approaching, he knew the battle was lost. He sounded the retreat, and his troops withdrew to Tramore and the cover of Drake’s guns. Before sunrise on the 18th, the English were gone.

The English Armada is commonly viewed as a failure, and as an attempt to reconquer Ireland it certainly was. However, the English did deal heavy damage to the Spanish fleet anchored at Waterford Harbor, making a second Spanish Armada extremely unlikely. And if Sir James Norris had failed to seize Port Láirge or defeat High Chief O’Neill, he had managed to bring most of his men home alive. This, more than anything else, likely saved his military career. Even so, the Battle of Belle Lake was the last time English troops would ever fight on Irish soil, marking a firm end of the English domination of Ireland. A new period in Irish history had begun, that of Spanish Ireland…



[1] This was of course what England attempted IOTL.

[2] IOTL, Brian O’Rourke, Lord of West Briefne, was forced to flee to Scotland in 1590, and ultimately extradited to England and executed in 1591.

[3] Roughly where Hook Lighthouse is IOTL.