La Trinidad Valencera

Kinnagoe Bay on the Donegal peninsula of Inishowen in the north of the county is a long sandy beach backed by a steep green hill. The view from the road above over the the bay is stunning and quite overwhelming so steep a drop to the beach below is it. The beach is approached by a narrow road (for cars) leading down to the beach where there is some parking space available.

It was here at Kinnagoe Bay one of the ships from the Spanish Armada sunk. At the top of the hill there is a plaque which reads:

"The Spanish Armada

Here in Kinnagoe Bay on September 16th 1588 the merchant ship 'La Trinidad Valencera' of the Spanish Armada, broke her back and fell apart. 'La Trinidad Vlaencera' was a Venetian merchant ship, pressed into service with the Levantine Squadron of the Spanish Armada.

At 1100 tons, she was one of the longest ships in the fleet and carried 42 guns and some 360 men, 281 of whom were soldiers.

About 40 lives were lost when she sank and some 350 survivors (including those from other ships) reached the shore. More than 200 of these were killed outside Derry by a force under Richard and Henry Hovenden.

The wreck of 'La Trinidad Valencera' was discovered by the City of Derry Sub-Aqua Club in 1971.'
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