Long legacy of the Armada
Ireland’s Fine Arts, antiques and collectables column
‘I’M expecting a wow,” says James O’Halloran, unveiling the table. It’s standing in the hallway of Adam’s Auction House under a green baize cover, awaiting transportation to Townley Hall, Drogheda, Co Louth. There, it will go on view, prior to auction on Tuesday. It’s estimated to sell for between €100,000 and €200,000. O’Halloran whips off the baize with a flourish, revealing “The Armada Table of the O’Briens.” And he gets his wow. The Armada Table of the O’Briens is an extraordinary mongrel beast. Physically, it’s substantial (242cm x 91cm x 82cm high) and its most notable features are the legs. There is one at each corner, expressively carved in the shape of lions with snarling mouths, curling tails, and front paws resting on heraldic shields. There are motifs carved in relief on the shields, but their meaning has been lost in time. So too has the significance of the two central legs, which are carved as women. Traditionally, they’ve been dubbed Hope and Charity, but it’s hard to see the logic of that. One wields an anchor like a jack hammer and the other holds a child in each hand, her magnificent breasts threatening to burst from her low-cut gown. That’s a fertility symbol if ever I saw one! The legs of the table were plundered from the wreck of a ship, part of the ill-fated Spanish Armada. In 1588, Philip II of Spain sent the 130-strong fleet to invade England. Defeated at the Battle of Gravelines, the fleet attempted to return home through the North Atlantic. Weather conditions were stormy, and many of the ships ran aground on the west coast of Ireland. There’s a romantic myth that the dark colouring of west of Ireland people comes from the genes of shipwrecked Spanish sailors. This story conjures a lovely image of handsome but disorientated Spaniards being pulled from the surf by eager Irish women. It’s not true though. Recent genetic research indicates that our Iberian ancestors came to Ireland a long before. And, when the Spanish made landfall in 1588, they met with a much harsher welcome. A report from William Fitzwilliam, Lord Deputy of Ireland, instructed his troops to “take all the hulls of ships, stores, treasures, etc into your hands and to apprehend and execute all Spaniards found there of what quality so ever. Torture may be used.” Boethius Clancy, High Sheriff of Clare, followed these instructions to the letter, assisted by the locals. The surviving Spanish sailors were put to death and the wooden carvings were removed from the stern of a shipwrecked galleon and made into a table, which Clancy presented to the O’Briens of Lemenagh, Co Clare. Sometime after 1660, it was removed to Dromoland Castle. There, it was spotted by the Reverend Daniel Augustus Beaufort in 1786. He records in his travel diaries that: “In a long-tiled gallery full of maps, & stag horns & other such things is a very curious massy table of some kind of mahogany, with 4 Lions for legs & in the middle Hope on one side & Charity on the other, for supporters — all rudely carved.” In terms of establishing provenance, O’Halloran points out, this is the next best thing to having a photo. The table, as an object, is full of untold secrets. The oldest parts — the legs — are carved from a tropical hardwood, possibly manilkara or bullet-wood. This tree grows in South America and, if the figures were carved on that continent, it would explain their non-Eurasian features. The frieze along the side of the tale is composed of floral marquetry, probably Dutch, punctuated with gargoyle-like masks that may have come from the same ship as the legs. The table top is made of two massive planks of yew, hewn with a long-saw and probably polished in the 19th century. The moulded stretcher base with cross supports is made of oak. The table remained in Dromoland until 1962, when the castle was sold by the 16th Baron Inchiquin, Sir Donough. It was then loaned to Bunratty Castle, but its ownership remained in the O’Brien family. It is currently the property of Conor O’Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin. There’s a strong argument, articulated by the Irish Georgian Society, for the public acquisition of the table. On September 26, the IGS wrote to Josepha Madigan TD, Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht: “The significance of the table to Ireland’s cultural patrimony and to that of Co Clare provides every reason for public intervention to ensure it not only remains in the country but continues to be on public view.” The auction takes place at Townley Hall on Tuesday at 11am. Viewing is tomorrow and Sunday (11am to 5pm) and on Monday (10am to 5pm).