Tag Archives: Mutton Island

LOCALS have discovered what appear to be human remains in a shallow grave on Mutton Island off the coast of Quilty this week. The remains, which are believed to be historical in nature, were found on the Eastern side of the Island earlier this week. The skull and bones were discovered under approximately a foot of soil and it is believed that the remains may date back to famine times. Gardaí were transported by members of the Doolin and Kilkee Coast Guard to investigate on Wednesday. Further gardaí are expected to travel to the island at 2pm today, Friday, to examine the remains.

By Peter O’Connell JOHN Treacy likens what happened in West Clare 426 years ago to two fully-loaded 747s crashing, within hours of each other. On Friday, September 20, 1588, the San Marcos and the San Esteban went down off Mutton Island (Quilty) and the White Strand (Doonbeg) respectively. In the region of 780 people were drowned, while the approximate 70 survivors were executed. Both ships were part of the Spanish Armada, whose initial aim was to help the Duke of Parma’s army to cross from France to England and, having accomplished this, the Armada’s second objective was to wipe out the English fleet. In recent months, the San Marcos Project, which is headed locally by John Treacy, a postgraduate researcher and Mary Immaculate College PHD student, has started its quest to elicit if the wreck of the doomed 790-tonne Portuguese galleon can be located. When it sailed from Corunna, it carried 33 guns, 409 men, including 292 soldiers and 117 …

A GROUP, Project San Marcus 2014 has been approved a dive, detection and survey licence to explore the  San Marcus, which was shipwrecked off Mutton Island in west Clare, during the arrival of the Spanish Armada to Ireland in 1588. The statutory approval was sanctioned on Wednesday by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They oversee the National Monuments Act, which caters for building or vessels over 100 years old. Project San Marcus 2014 will work with INFORMAR in Galway on the project. The Integrated Mapping For the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource (INFOMAR) programme is a joint venture between the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute. John Tracy, from Spanish Point, who is a PHD student at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, said that this weeks issuing of the licence is very significant. “The licencing is the critical thing. Over the past two years I’ve been working with a couple with of government agencies …