New book charts Archduke Ferdinand’s visit to Kinsale

Des O’Sullivan tells a tale of bad weather in Kinsale that left a legacy.

THE havoc created by winds and rain in Ireland in latter weeks is nothing new. The wind has always resulted in the unexpected in Ireland. In 1518, it blew the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand and a royal retinue of about 400 people, en route from Spain to the Low Countries, into Kinsale.

One of the party, Laurent Vital, recorded the four-day visit in his diary.