On this Day…1st November

On this day, 1 November, 1755, the Lisbon earthquake caused a 2-metre tsunami that hit the coast of Galway, causing some serious damage to the Spanish Arch section of the city walls of Galway.

By Ian Brophy

The earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake,was a series of earthquakes that occurred on November 1 at approximately 9.40 in the morning. November 1, in the Church calendar, is All Saints’ Day. That Saturday, most of the population were at 9 o’clock morning Mass, to celebrate the Feast of All Saints. It is believed the earthquake had a magnitude of between 8.5 and 9.2 on the Richter scale. The churches, unable to withstand the seismic shock, collapsed, killing and injuring thousands of the worshippers. Reports from the time state that the earthquake lasted from 3 to 6 minutes. Approximately 40 minutes later, a tsunami engulfed the harbour and downtown area of Lisbon. This was followed by 2 more waves. Candles lit in churches and homes all over the city were knocked over, starting a fire which developed into lots of little fires, eventually becoming a firestorm.

Shocks from the earthquake were felt throughout Europe, as far as Finland and north Africa, possibly extending to Greenland and the Caribbean. A 3-metre tsunami hit Cornwall on the English coast. In Co. Clare, Aughinish Island was created when a low-lying connection to the mainland was washed away. At Kinsale, several vessels were whirled around in the harbour; leaving the marketplace flooded.

In 1271 the walls of Galway were started to fortify the town against attack and to protect the inhabitants of the town. In 1584,a fortification was built as an extension of the town walls. Known as Ceann an Bhalla, ‘the head of the wall’, this fortification was used to house soldiers who kept watch over the quayside and manned cannons placed on top of the fortification. Constructed during the term of William Martin, 34th Mayor of Galway; the fortification later came to be known as the Spanish Arch. This name probably came about as a result of the extensive maritime trade between Galway and Spain, and the many Spanish galleons which would have docked at the quayside.

In the 18th century, the wealthy Eyre family built the Long Walk as an extension to the quays, and as a breakwater to construct a mud berth. There were 4 arches originally in the defensive wall during the medieval period. At this time the fortification may have been known as the Eyre Arch.

On this day, 1 November, 1755, the Lisbon earthquake caused a 2-metre tsunami that hit the coast of Galway, causing some serious damage to the Spanish Arch section of the city walls of Galway.