James Archer (Jesuit) - Spanish Intervention

Spanish Intervention

In October 1599 Archer left Ireland for Rome, where he effectively acted as O'Neill's envoy. Pope Clement VIII delayed the appointment of a nuncio to Ireland, but at Madrid plans for an Irish expedition were given renewed attention upon the agreement of peace between Spain and France. In early 1601 Philip III of Spain opted to send an armada with a force of 6000 soldiers, and the Dublin government began preparations to meet the Spanish effort.

During the spring and summer of 1601 Carew and Cecil received reports of the activities of Archer, who had just arrived in Spain. Despite the appointment of a Jesuit nuncio - a neutral who was averse to a militant mission in Ireland - Archer managed to defer service in the seminary at Salamanca and involved himself in the Irish expedition instead. He proposed a landing in Munster - in the south - while the commander of the expedition, del Aguila, insisted on the north. In consultation, O'Neill and the northern rebels recommended a compromise: a landing on the coast between the western port of Limerick and Lough Foyle in the extreme north. In September Archer set sail with the armada, which bore over 4500 soldiers and was bound for the port of Cork, or its alternative at Kinsale - both destinations lay at the extreme south of the island.