Siege of Smerwick

Accounts vary on whether they had been granted quarter. Grey de Wilton ordered the summary executions, sparing only the commanders. Grey had also heard that the main Irish rebel army of 4,000 "who had promised to be on the mountains", were somewhere in the hills to his east, looking to be rearmed and supplied by Di San Giuseppe, and they might in turn surround his army; but this army never appeared.

In Grey de Wilton's account, contained in a despatch to Queen Elizabeth I of England dated 11 November 1580, he rejected an approach made by the besieged Spanish and Italian forces to agree terms of a conditional surrender in which they would cede the fort and leave. Grey de Wilton claimed that he insisted that they surrender without preconditions and put themselves at his mercy, and that he subsequently rejected a request for a ceasefire. An agreement was finally made for an unconditional surrender the next morning, with hostages being taken by English forces to ensure compliance.[6] The following morning, an English force entered the fort to secure and guard armaments and supplies. Grey de Wilton's account in his despatch says "Then put I in certain bands, who straight fell to execution. There were six hundred slain." Grey de Wilton's forces spared those of higher rank: "Those that I gave life unto, I have bestowed upon the captains and gentlemen that hath well deserved ...."[6]

Sir Geoffrey Fenton wrote to London on 14 November about the prisoners that a further "20 or 30 Captains and Alphiaries [were] spared to report in Spain and Italy the poverty and infidelity of their Irish consociates."[7]

Margaret Anna Cusack (writing as M. F. Cusack) noted in 1871 that there had long been a degree of controversy about Grey de Wilton's version of events to Elizabeth, and identifies three other contemporary accounts which contradict it, by O'Daly, O'Sullivan Beare, and Russell. According to these versions, Grey de Wilton promised the garrison their lives in return for their surrender, a promise which he broke, remembered in the term "Grey's faith". Like Grey himself, none of these commentators can be described as neutral, as they were all either serving the state or opposed to it. Cusack's own interpretation of the events likewise could not be described as unbiased, given her position as a Catholic nun and fervent Irish nationalist at the time.[8]

Cusack confirmed that Di San Giuseppe (whom she named by the Spanish version, San José) had sold the "Fort del Ore" ('Fort of Gold', i.e. Dún an Óir) for a bribe: "Colonel Sebastian San José, who proved eventually so fearful a traitor to the cause he had volunteered to defend. [...] The Geraldine cause was reduced to the lowest ebb by the treachery of José."[9] She explained that:

In a few days the courage of the Spanish commander failed, and he entered into treaty with the Lord Deputy. A bargain was made that he should receive a large share of the spoils. He had obtained a personal interview in the Viceroy's camp, and the only persons for whom he made conditions were the Spaniards who had accompanied him on the expedition. The English were admitted to the fortress on the following day, and a feast was prepared for them.[9]

Memorial to the victims of the massacre at Dún an Óir

Cusack also mentions that some of the few that were spared summary execution actually suffered a worse fate: They were offered life if they would renounce their Catholic faith. Upon refusal, their arms and legs were broken in three places by an ironsmith. They were left in agony for a day and night and then hanged.[8] In contrast, Grey's report mentioned: "Execution of the Englishman who served Dr Sanders, and two others, whose arms and legs were broken for torture." He did not specify why they were tortured, nor refer to their religion.[10]

John Hooker states in his Supply to the Irish Chronicle (an addition to Holinshed's Chronicles) written in 1587, the bands ordered to carry out the executions were led by Captain Raleigh (later Sir Walter Raleigh) and Captain Mackworth.[11][12]

Richard Bingham, future commander of Connacht, was present and described events in a letter to Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester), although he claimed the massacre was perpetrated by sailors.[13] The poet Edmund Spenser, then secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, is also thought to have been present.[6]

According to the folklore of the area, the execution of the captives took two days, with many of the captives being beheaded in a field known locally in Irish as Gort a Ghearradh ('Field of Cutting'); their bodies later being thrown into the sea. Archaeologists have not yet discovered human remains at the site, although a nearby field is known as Gort na gCeann ('Field of the Heads') and local folklore recalls the massacre.[14]