When the Spanish Armada Reached Ireland
Not Just the Tudors
History Hit
4.8 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 April 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What happens when a fleeing armada meets an unforgiving coast? Shipwreck, slaughter and survival collide as Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Michael B. Barry uncover the untold Irish chapter of the Spanish Armada. From shattered galleons and mass executions to lost princes and lingering myths on wild Atlantic shores, this is a storm‑lashed saga where the real battle begins after the guns fall silent.
MORE:
The Spanish Armada
Mary Rose and the Battle of The Solent
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Want to walk the halls of Anne Boleyn's childhood home or explore the castles that made up Henry |
| 0:06.8 | the 8th's English stronghold? With a subscription to history hit, you can dive into our Tudor |
| 0:12.1 | past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists. You also unlock hundreds of |
| 0:18.4 | hours of original documentaries with a brand new release |
| 0:21.8 | every single week. Covering everything from the ancient world to World War II, just visit |
| 0:28.1 | historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. |
| 0:34.9 | Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb and welcome welcome to Not Just the Tudors from History Hit, |
| 0:40.7 | the podcasts in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to the Aztecs, |
| 0:45.2 | from Holbein to the Huguenots, from Shakespeare to Samarise, |
| 0:49.8 | relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage and witchcraft. |
| 0:54.0 | Not in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors. |
| 1:02.4 | On the 22nd of July 1588, under the command of Don Alonso Perez de Guthrmann, Duke of Medina Sedonia, and after months of delay, |
| 1:14.6 | the 130 ships of the great Armada left Spain. By dawn on the 30th of July, they were level with Formuth, |
| 1:21.6 | and then struck sail, while rapid intelligence was gathered about the size and readiness of the English fleet. |
| 1:29.3 | This was Medina Sedonia's first error. The Armada was spotted. |
| 1:33.3 | An Admiral Howard of Effingham, commanding the English fleet, took most of his ships around the Amada's seaward flank, |
| 1:40.3 | gaining the tactical advantage of the weather gauge, the winds. |
| 1:44.8 | Always a precondition of victory in the age of sail. |
| 1:48.9 | The next morning, Howard launched his attack. |
| 1:51.5 | It lasted two hours. |
| 1:53.5 | But despite it, and bar one or two skirmishes, |
| 1:56.6 | the Amada continued unopposed on their voyage |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.