A joint initiative involving groups from Ireland and Spain aims to make the Co Sligo village of Grange the main centre for Spanish Armada studies and to have it recognised as the most important armada site.
Three armada wrecks were discovered off the coast of north Co Sligo at Streedagh 14 years ago and the long-term aim of the groups is to have the ships reclaimed and further investigated.
The three ships, the Juliana, La Lavia and Santa Maria De La Vision were discovered by English divers. After lengthy court proceedings, the divers' case for salvage rights was denied but they received substantial compensation from the State.
Since the discovery, strong links have been formed between the local community and the city of La Coruna in Spain, from where the armada set sail. Members of the Armada Association of La Coruna have visited the site several times and are due there again this summer.
The spokesman of the Grange armada committee, Mr Tony Toher, said funds were now being sought from the EU Rafael Initiative for the project.
"The priority is to establish Grange as a centre for armada studies," he said. "We would also encourage reclamation of whatever can be reclaimed and a further investigation of the wrecks. We are fully aware that this would cost a vast amount of money but it is a primary objective," Mr Toher said.
It is estimated that up to 1,000 Spanish sailors drowned when a storm hit the Sligo coast in the autumn of 1588. The armada of 130 ships and 30,000 sailors, en route to England, had been blown off course up the North Sea, around the coast of Scotland and down the west coast of Ireland. In all, 28 ships were lost off the Irish coast.
To mark the fourth centenary of the tragedy in 1988, a memorial was erected at Streedagh. Last September, a group from La Coruna presided over the unveiling of a plaque at Grange but the plan now is for a larger memorial to mark what Mr Toher described as "a great national disaster for Spain".
Mr Barry McGinley-Jones of the Armada Association of La Coruna said there was huge interest in the Streedagh wrecks in Spain. They are supporting the long-term efforts to locate an armada museum in Grange and want any artefacts found at the site to be placed in the care of the local authorities.
"Public opinion is that the Spanish Armada sites are a common grave for thousands of Spaniards who died off the Irish coast and that the wrecks should be treated with dignity," he said.
In his account of the tragedy, the captain of La Lavia, Francisco Cuellar, described the beach at Streedagh as being strewn with bodies. The ships had anchored for safety but the storm was so strong the ships were blown on to a sand bank.
There are indications that one of the huge rudders may well be preserved, having been buried in the sand. It is believed the wreckage also includes a cannon, navigational instruments and personal possessions.