In May 1588, a daunting armada of ships left Spain for England, with orders to dethrone Queen Elizabeth I and restore England to the bosom of the Roman Church under Philip II of Spain. The venture had been delayed by a year, following a daring raid on Cadiz led by Sir Francis Drake, but now all was in readiness again.

Despite the King of Spain’s Catholic fervour, in England both Catholics and Protestants combined to see off this brazen attack. Thanks to the Royal Navy’s more nimble ships the cumbersome warships of the Spanish fleet were unable to land, and retired to Gravelines for repairs only to be flushed out again by Drake’s fireships.

To escape Drake’s fireships the Spanish fleet fled into the North Sea. Driven ever on by the wind and the English navy, they rounded Scotland and, amid relentless storms, passed down Ireland’s treacherous western coast. At last the tattered remnants of Philip’s ‘Invincible Armada,’ barely a third of its initial strength, limped home in defeat.

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