The Spanish Armada that departed from Port Láirge on April 23, 1589 was not the fleet that had departed Spain a year earlier. It was slightly smaller, having lost several ships on the voyage. It carried fewer provisions, as the journey to Flanders would be far shorter, and instead brought a contingent of Irish troops under the command of Hugh O'Neill, Tanist of Tyrone. Most importantly, it was more experienced. The journey from Spain the previous year had been a harrowing one, and had given the crews and officers a splendid opportunity to become more familiar with their ships and each other. The battles of Port Láirge and Dublin had given them confidence, and the months spent in Ireland had rested them.
The Armada also had a new squadron: the Squadron of Ireland. It was composed of a handful of ships owned by Grainne O'Malley, Chief of Umhall, and five Spanish ships that had been severely damaged on the voyage over and repaired in Port Láirge. These ships had been recrewed with Irishmen, so the entire squadron would speak one language. Even so, O'Malley ordered her officers (mostly veterans of her years of piracy against the English) to learn Spanish, and used proficiency in Spanish to determine who should be promoted. Naturally, it was these ships that would carry most of O'Neill's troops.
However, the delay had also given their enemies time to prepare. Believing that the troops currently in England would be insufficient to defeat the Spanish forces, Queen Elizabeth I had not only authorized the raising of new regiments, but had sought out foreign support. King John III of Sweden had refused, possible due to his Catholic sympathies. Denmark was under a regency following the death of King Frederick II, and the regency council was hesitant to get Denmark involved in a foreign war. The Danes did help mediate negotiations between England and the Hanseatic League. In exchange for new trade concessions and guarantees concerning the London kontor (known as the Steelyard), including the right of the Hansa to trade with England's colonies, the Hansa provided four ships to the English, including the aged galleon Adler von Lübeck [1].
Queen Elizabeth had better luck closer to home. The Dutch agreed to send ships in exchange for promises of renewed English support. She also convinced her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, to support her, warning that if Spain did succeed in conquering England, there would be nothing stopping them from doing the same to Scotland. King James had been disinclined to help at first, given the execution of his mother Mary, Queen of Scots by Elizabeth in 1587, but the invasion of Ireland had thrown the Spanish threat into sharp relief. Scotland had no real navy to speak of at this time, but he did authorize Scottish privateers to attack Spanish ships, and Scottish troops were mobilized in April following the departure of the Armada from Port Láirge.
The Armada was sighted off Plymouth on April 24. With the evening tide in their favor, the English fleet sallied forth [2], meeting the Spanish off Eddystone Rocks on April 25. The English had the advantage in numbers, but they were outgunned by the Spanish. The Spanish fleet was arranged in a crescent formation, with the fighting ships at the horns and the center. Most of the English fleet stayed out of the way of the Spanish, firing at extreme range with little effect.
Drake's own squadron used its speed to get south of the Spanish, and engaged the Squadron of Castile at a more effective range. They succeeded in sinking the Nuestra Señora del Barrio and demasting the Trinidad. However, in doing so the Dreadnought ended up sailing too close to the Spanish fleet, and came under heavy fire. According to Spanish records, Dreadnought got off several addition salvoes before a Spanish cannonball found her magazine, and the ship was lost with all hands. Medina Sidonia elected to burn the Trinidad rather than see it taken by the English.
But despite Drake's daredevil reputation, it would be Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham and Lord High Admiral of the English Navy, who struck the most devastating blow. Howard had taken the Adler as his flagship, and knew it was larger than any other ship in the engagement. He thus brought her in closer, in order to use her 138 guns to deadly effect. The Adler von Lübeck raked the Squadron of Naples from the rear, sinking the Zúñiga and Girona. Don Hugo de Moncada ordered his flagship, the San Lorenzo, to maneuver to bring its four heavy rear guns to bear on the Adler. One shot went home, killing or maiming a dozen sailors and taking out two of the Adler's guns, but the maneuver also resulted in the San Lorenzo colliding with the Napolitana. Both ships had to be abandoned and burned. With that, the Squadron of Naples ceased to exist.
Although they closely followed the Spanish, the English were unable to close for another engagement. On April 27, Medina Sidonia held a council of war. His orders were to go on to the Netherlands, but he was also considering bringing his fleet into the Solent and occupying the Isle of Wight. Both O'Malley and O'Neill liked this plan, but the remaining Spaniards were spooked by their losses. Moncada in particular feared that any delay would result in their ships being picked off by the English. O'Neill reportedly called him a coward, and only Medina Sidonia's intervention prevented an outright brawl. Medina Sidonia ultimately chose to follow orders, and would proceed to the Netherlands to rendezvous with Parma.
Unfortunately, Parma was not ready. His efforts to assemble transports had been stymied by the Dutch, who were being assisted by both Scottish and Hanseatic privateers (although it is unclear if the Hansetag officially sanctioned these actions). It would take close to a week before his fleet was ready to sail [3]. The Spanish Armada was forced to anchor at Calais on April 29. After hearing word that the Dutch had blockaded Dunkirk, Medina Sidonia detached part of the Squadron of Ireland to drive them off, counting on O'Malley's galleys to be able to maneuver in shallow waters against the Dutch flyboats.
While O'Malley was away, the English made their move. On the night of April 30, the English sent in ten fireships to attack Calais. This forced the Armada to scatter. No Spanish ships were burned (although a French merchant would later claim that his ship had been burned while tied up at the dock), but their cohesion was lost. Medina Sidonia brought the Armada to Dunkirk, now cleared of the Dutch. Here, he hoped, he would be able to reorganize the Armada and begin loading the troops. But on May 2, his lookouts sighted the English fleet.
The Battle of Dunkirk would go down as one of the great naval battles of history. This time, the English threw caution to the wind, taking advantage of the Spanish confusion and inferior seamanship. When Howard brought the Adler von Lübeck in to wreak havoc among the Spanish transports, Medina Sidonia ordered the São Martinho to intercept. Every other galleon within reach would do the same, and the Adler suffered heavy damage. Eventually, Howard was forced to withdraw, covered by the Ark Royal (which had been his flagship before the acquistion of the Adler). As she retreated, one of the last salvoes from the Adler ripped into the São Martinho. When the smoke cleared, among the dead was Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia and first Governor-General of Ireland, ripped in half by an English cannonball. The Adler von Lübeck would ultimately be broken up, although its mast was preserved and returned to Lübeck as a gift from Queen Elizabeth.
Medina Sidonia was not the only high-ranked casualty. The Squadron of Ireland had largely stayed behind to cover the troopships, and came under renewed attack from the Dutch flyboats. Violating orders from O'Malley and overriding the actual captain, O'Neill ordered his ship, the Gobnait [4], to close with the Dutch and divert them from the troopships. He succeeded in protecting the troopships, but his galley, the ran aground on a hidden sandbar, and became an easy target. A famous account from an Irish sailor claims that O'Neill was personally manning a cannon when he was killed by splinters from a Dutch cannon hit.
The Armada was scattered. Captain-General Juan Martinez de Recalde, second in command of the Armada, survived, but his flagship, the Santa Ana, ran aground, and he would not return to Spain for some time. It was left to Admiral Miguel de Oquendo to command the remaining ships. Fortunately, his flagship (the Nuestra Señora de la Rosa [5]) was joined by O'Malley aboard the Naomh Bréanainn [6] and the rest of the Squadron of Ireland. O'Malley's support was crucial to establishing Oquendo as the new commander. Other commanders alleged that O'Malley and Oquendo had become lovers, although there is no definitive evidence one way or the other.
The Armada sailed north, planning to sail around Scotland. It was here that O'Malley proved essential, as she knew these waters far better than the Spanish, and helped them avoid any further calamities. Even so, eight ships were lost to storms, and hundreds of men to disease. Most of the Armada then entered the Irish Sea before finally returning to Port Láirge. One ship was dispatched to Spain to inform King Philip of the Armada's failure, and of the death of Medina Sidonia.
Philip was, of course, outraged, but he did not take out his anger on Oquendo, nor did he order them to try again next year. Most of the Armada would remain in Ireland for the time being, serving as a fleet-in-being. Oquendo was confirmed as the new Governor-General of Ireland, and was also given the title of Chief of Ormond. Oquendo would spend the rest of his life in Ireland [7].
The Spanish Armada had failed. England had demonstrated its naval supremacy, and had built stronger ties with both Scotland and the Netherlands. Now the time would come to strike back against Spain. Or, rather, at those who had offered Spain a base from which to attack England. A new Armada was assembled, but not a Spanish Armada.
An English Armada…
[1] IOTL, the Adler von Lübeck was disassembled in 1588. I can't find out precisely when, so I'm using authorial license to say that it happened later in the year, and ITTL the Hansa decided not to break it up when they realized that it might be useful in negotiations with England. The guarantees from Queen Elizabeth will ensure that she does not close the London kontor in 1597.
[2] IOTL, the tide was against the English when they first sighted the Armada. Here, they are able to respond more quickly, and the battle is more serious.
[3] IOTL, communication difficulties had hampered Parma's preparations. ITTL, he has better warning, but he also has to deal with a sustained privateer campaign.
[4] This would have been one of Grainne O'Malley's galleys. I have not been able to find any definitive information on them, so I've arbitrarily named them after Irish saints. Gobnait was a sixth century saint, and is a patron of bees.
[5] IOTL, Miguel de Oquendo's flagship was also named the Santa Ana. ITTL, the confusion from having two flagships named Santa Ana was one of the issues discovered on the voyage from Spain to Ireland, and he chose to transfer his flag to the Nuestra Señora de la Rosa before the Armada left for England.
[6] Naomh Bréanainn is the Gaelic name of Saint Brendan of Clontarf, known for his legendary journey to the "Isle of the Blessed", and is a patron saint of sailors.
[7] IOTL, Oquendo died on the journey back.
