A table constructed with wood from the Spanish Armada that sunk off the Clare coast in the seventeenth century is pegged to fetch between €100,000 and €200,000 when it goes on sale at auction today.
After the ill-fated ships sunk off the West Clare coast 430 years ago, ship parts and decorative carvings were recovered, and used to construct the three-metre long ‘Armada table’ which has been described as one of the most important and earliest pieces of Irish furniture.
Its planned sale by Lord Inchiquin, Conor O’Brien, has led to disappointment in certain quarters, and calls for efforts to be made to retain it in Clare.
The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has told Clare FM that it’s aware of today’s sale by Adams Auctioneers in Co. Louth.
