Priceless Spanish Armada cannons found off Sligo coast
They are from La Juliana, one of three ships that sank with the loss of more than a 1,000 lives off the coast of Streedagh.
Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys is taking a boat this morning to view the area of discovery.
She is expected to make an announcement later about plans for National Museum storage for the cannons, which are more than 400 years old.
La Juliana and two other ships, La Lavia and Santa Maria de Vision, were sunk in a storm in September 1588.
Some artifacts recovered from the wreck site several years ago included three bronze cannons weighing one and a half tonnes each.
In the last two months divers have been studying the site and it is believed they have found new cannons.
Grange Armada Development Association (GADA) is maintaining secrecy about the discovery until it is inspected by the minister.
Association chairman Eddie O’Gorman wouldn’t even confirm that new cannons were found. But a high-ranking source said they were found and they were linked to the La Juliana.
The site has been described by maritime archaeologist Douglas McElvogue as “the best archaeological site for this type of maritime archaeology in the world”.
An interpretative centre is planned for the nearby village of Grange.
