Robert Hernan was my great great great great grandfather.

He may have been born about 1769, near Moville, Co. Donegal. He had at least one son, Charles.

For many long years family tradition has stated that he was descended from a survivor of one of the ships of the mighty Spanish Armada. In 1588 many sank in atrocious weather off the coast of Donegal, fleeing homeward after a failed attempt to invade England.

Most survivors of the shipwrecks were captured by the English Army and executed near Derry, but a handful fled into the wild Inishowen hills where they found food and shelter. My mother remembers being told the story, as a young girl, of how the Spanish name Hernandez became the Irish Hernan.

The wreck of one of the largest troopships in the Spanish Armada - "La Trinidad Valencera" was found in Kinnagoe Bay in 1971 by the City of Derry scuba diving club. The bay falls within the parish of Moville Lower, and the find adds a little credibility to the strong family tradition. Artefacts from the ship can be seen in the Tower Museum in Derry.

Robert may have died in Inishowen about 1830.

 

NOTE

There is no official documentation to support the family dates quoted above. They are from oral / written tradition only. However, the Tithe Applotment Books, collated in 1825, mention a Roger Hirland (a spelling used elsewhere for "Hernan") farming land in Carrowtrasna. In 1857 the Primary Valuation of Tenements ("Griffith's Valuation") showed Charles and Denis Hirlin renting land in Carrowtrasna.

Given the unusual surname, they were probably related. Charles and Denis could have been Roger's son and grandson respectively, as they appear to have farmed the same land. If so, then "Roger" and "Robert" would probably be the same person (but, unusually in Irish families, these are not christian names that have been passed through any of the family lines).

This is the only mention of a Roger / Robert Hernan that I have been able to find in official records.This suggests that if he was alive in 1825 he may have been about 56 years old.

...... okay ...., so I'm struggling here ... help ... please!

 

Kinnagoe Bay, Glennagivney, where the Spanish troopship "La Trinidad Valencera" was wrecked in 1588

A painting of "La Trinidad Valencera"