Irish Customs Quotes
His memoir is one of the best descriptions of the Irish people at the time. Note that this was before the potato was introduced into Ireland from South America. One of the most interesting things about the Irish at the time is that they did not drink water or eat fish while both were very abundant and of very high quality. The Captain had broken formation in the 1588 Great Armada defeat by England and was ordered onboard another ship of officers to be disciplined (scapegoats for the defeat). His ship was severely damaged, blown off course, and wrecked on the Irish coast. Note that he refers to the Irish as “savages” which was in comportment with the English perception of the Irish at the time—see {639438}. When shipwrecked the Irish robbed and stripped the Spaniards of every shred of their clothing, but they did not kill the few Spaniards who were left alive. They lived off roots and plants until they ran into other Irish who saw them as allied Catholics against the hated English. These Irish assisted them from being captured by the English and helped the escape back to Spain in a small boat.
