Grace O'Malley

Gráinne O'Malley (, ; – ) was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille.

Upon her father's death, she took over active leadership of the lordship by land and sea, despite having a brother, Dónal an Phíopa Ó Máille. Marriage to Dónal an Chogaidh (Donal "of the war") Ó Flaithbheartaigh brought her greater wealth and influence, reportedly owning as much as 1,000 head of cattle and horses. In 1593, when her sons Tibbot Bourke and Murchadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh (Murrough O'Flaherty) and her half-brother Dónal an Phíopa ("Donal of the Pipes") were taken captive by the English governor of Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham, O'Malley sailed to England to petition for their release. She formally presented her request to Queen Elizabeth I at her court in Greenwich Palace.

O'Malley is not mentioned in the Irish annals, so documentary evidence for her life comes mostly from English sources, especially the eighteen "Articles of Interrogatory", questions put to her in writing on behalf of Elizabeth I. She is mentioned in the English State Papers and in other documents of the kind.

In Irish folklore she is commonly known as Gráinne Mhaol (anglicised as Granuaile) and is a well-known historical figure in sixteenth-century Irish history. Her name was also rendered in contemporaneous English documents in various ways, including Gráinne O'Maly, Graney O'Mally, Granny ni Maille, Grany O'Mally, Grayn Ny Mayle, Grane ne Male, Grainy O'Maly, and Granee O'Maillie, never known as Grace O'Malley. In popular culture, she is often referred to as "The Pirate Queen".

Early life

O'Malley was born in Ireland around 1530, when Henry VIII was King of England and held the title Lord of Ireland. Under the policies of the English government at the time, the semi-autonomous Irish clans were left mostly to their own devices. However, this changed over the course of O'Malley's life as the Tudor conquest of Ireland gathered pace.

Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille, her father, and his family were based in Clew Bay, County Mayo. He was Chief of the Name of Clan Ó Máille and Lord of Umhaill, and claimed descent from Maille mac Conall. The Uí Mháille were one of the seafaring clans of Connacht, and they had built a row of castles facing the sea to protect their territory. They controlled most of what is now the barony of Murrisk Although under Brehon Law only male members of the derbhfine could inherit the mantle of Chief of the Name through tanistry, O'Malley "was considered to be the legal retainer of the family land and seafaring activities".

With shore castles like Carrickkildavnet, the Clan Uí Mháille demanded and received black rent from those who fished off their coasts, which included fishermen from as far away as England. The head of the family was known simply by his surname as Ó Máille (anglicised as The O'Malley). The local oral tradition has it that O'Malley, as a young girl, wished to go on a trading expedition to Spain with her father. Upon being told she could not because her long hair would catch in the ship's ropes, she cut off most of her hair to shame her father into taking her. This earned her the nickname "Gráinne Mhaol" (; from maol, meaning 'bald' or 'having cropped hair'), usually anglicised as Granuaile ( ). The nickname may also come from Gráinne Umhaill ("Gráinne of Umhall", Umhall being a historical district of west Connacht dominated by the Uí Mháille).

As a child she most likely lived at her family's residence of Belclare and Clare Island,

Marriage to Ó Flaithbheartaigh

thumb|upright=1.1|Clare Island, associated with Grace O'Malley

O'Malley was married in 1546 to Dónal an Chogaidh Ó Flaithbheartaigh, tánaiste or heir to the Chief of the Name of Clan Ó Flaithbheartaigh, which would have been a good political match for the daughter of the Chief of Clan Ó Máille. As Ó Flaithbheartaigh tánaiste, Dónal an Chogaidh had expectations of one day ruling as Lord of Iar Connacht, which was roughly equivalent to modern Connemara.

She bore three children during her marriage to Dónal an Chogaidh:

Eóghan (Owen): The eldest child, known to be kind and forgiving. Sir Richard Bingham tricked him; Owen was murdered as a result, and Bingham and his troops took over his castle.
Méadhbh (Maeve):

In 1564, Dónal's ambitions were dashed when his kinsman Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh was appointed by Queen Elizabeth as Chief of the Name instead of him. In 1565, Dónal was killed in an ambush while hunting in the hills surrounding Lough Corrib. His assassination was, undoubtedly, part of Dónal's wider struggle against Clan Joyce for control of Hen's Castle upon the lough. When the Joyces moved to take the Castle, thinking that Gráinne would not resist, she fought back successfully and forced Clan Joyce to retreat. O'Malley then returned to her own lands and established her principal residence upon Clare Island (now called Granuaile's Castle). She allegedly took a shipwrecked sailor as her lover. The affair lasted only briefly as he was killed by Clan MacMahon of Ballyvoy. Seeking vengeance, O'Malley attacked Clan MacMahon's stronghold of Doona Castle in Blacksod Bay and slew her lover's murderers upon Caher Island. Her veangence against Clan MacMahon earned Gráinne the nickname the 'Dark Lady of Doona'.

Marriage to Bourke

thumb|right|[[Rockfleet Castle]]

By 1566, O'Malley had married a second time, this time to Risdeárd an Iarainn ("Iron Richard") Bourke, 18th Mac William Íochtar (d.1583), his nickname deriving from his ironworks at Burrishoole, the place of his principal castle and residence. Tibbot, 1st Viscount Mayo, was a child of this marriage.

Still not satisfied with her revenge, O'Malley then sailed for Ballycroy and attacked the garrison at Doona Castle, overpowering the defenders and taking the castle for herself. Her attack against the MacMahons was not the first time she interrupted someone at their prayers. Legend tells of another lord who stole property from her and fled to a church for sanctuary. She was determined to wait out the thief, maintaining that he could starve or surrender. The thief dug a tunnel and escaped, however, and the hermit who took care of the church broke his vow of silence to scold her for attempting to harm someone who had sought sanctuary. Her reply is not recorded.

More than twenty years after her death, an English Lord Deputy of Ireland recalled her ability as a leader of fighting men, noting the fame she still had among the Irish people.

Autonomous status

In 1576, O'Malley engaged in the surrender and regrant process with the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney in respect of her lands. Because Rockfleet was over a week's march from Dublin, and as she was so often at sea, control by the Crown was very weak.

In 1593, in his letter to protest O'Malley's claims against him, Sir Richard Bingham claimed that she was "nurse to all rebellions in the province for this forty years". Bingham was Lord President of Connacht, tasked with controlling local lords who had, until then, been mostly autonomous.

O'Malley had every reason, and used every opportunity, to limit the power of the Kingdom of Ireland over her part of the country. An expedition from Galway led by Sheriff William Óge Martyn attacked her castle at Clare Island in March 1579. However, they were put to flight and barely escaped.

Meeting with Elizabeth

thumb|upright=1.1|The meeting of Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I (a later illustration from Anthologia Hibernica, vol. 11, 1793)

In the late 16th century, English power steadily grew in Ireland and O'Malley's power was steadily encroached upon. In June 1593, O'Malley sent a petition to the Queen. She asked her "to grant her some reasonable maintenance for the little tyme she hath to live". In return she offered "a surrender at her hands" of the lands of her two sons and those of her two surviving Bourke nephews. She asked for "free libertye during her lyve to envade with sword and fire all your highness enemyes wheresoever they are or shall be ... without any interruption of any person or persons whatsoever". In May 1593, Hugh Maguire (Lord of Fermanagh) rebelled and burned Ballymote, then under the control of Sir George Bingham. One of Maguire's men was captured and implicated Grace's son Tibbott-ne-Long in a wider Tyrone- inspired conspiracy against the English. Tibbott was promptly captured by Sir Richard Bingham, sent to Athlone prison and charged with treason.

Many of what Anne Chambers refers to as "fanciful tales" have embellished the story of the meeting in Irish story-telling tradition.

Last years

Sir Richard Bingham disagreed with the decision of the Queen and initially did not obey her instructions, which O'Malley had personally delivered to him on her return to Ireland. She added that "her sons, cousins, and followers will serve with a hundred men at their own charges at sea upon the coast of Ireland in Her Majesty's wars upon all occasions ... to continue dutiful unto Her Majesty, as true and faithful subjects". Throughout the war she encouraged and supported her son Tibbot Bourke to fight for the Crown against Tyrone's confederation of Irish lords.

In September 1595, there was a conspiracy against Sir Richard Bingham; he fled to England and was imprisoned. Sir Conyers Clifford was appointed Governor of Connaught.

Documentary evidence for O'Malley's life comes mostly from English sources, as she is not mentioned in the Irish annals. The Ó Máille family "book", a collection of eulogistic bardic poetry and other material of the sort kept by aristocratic Gaelic households of the period, has not survived. There are no contemporary images of her. An important source of information is the eighteen "Articles of Interrogatory", questions put to her in writing on behalf of Elizabeth I.

A story is recorded of O'Malley chiding her son Tíoboíd in the course of an attack on Kanturk Castle, when she thought he was shirking the battle: ("Are you trying to hide in my arse, the place that you came out of?"). She is also recorded as saying, with regard to her followers, (that she would rather have a shipload of Conroys and MacAnallys than a shipload of gold). Westport House also contains an exhibition on the life of O'Malley compiled by the author Anne Chambers, who wrote a biography of Granuaile.

Cultural impact

O'Malley's life has inspired many musicians, novelists, and playwrights to create works based on her life and adventures and she has been used as a personification of Ireland:

Music

The Irish language poet and Easter Rising leader Patrick Pearse used Gráinne O'Malley as a symbol of Irish republicanism in his lyrics to Óró sé do bheatha abhaile.
In 1985, the Irish composer and singer Shaun Davey composed a suite of music based on the life and times of O'Malley, Granuaile, published in 1986.
The Indulgers' 2000 album In Like Flynn includes a song entitled "Granuaile", which is centred on the legend of O'Malley.
Dead Can Dance's 2012 album Anastasis features a song titled "Return of the She-King", which was inspired by O'Malley.
The Irish musician Gavin Dunne (Miracle of Sound) released a song entitled "Gráinne Mhaol, Queen of Pirates" on his 2015 album Metal Up.
The Canadian folk punk band The Dreadnoughts released a song entitled "Grace O'Malley" on their 2009 Victory Square album.
The Swedish melodic death metal band Frantic Amber released a song entitled "Graínne Mhaol" on their 2017 digital re-release of the originally 2015 released album "Burning Insight".
The 2019 album Talk Like a Pirate by Rockin' Ron the Friendly Pirate "Ron Carter" features the song "Pirate Grace O'Malley", based on the life of Grace O'Malley
The 2022 song "Rule 23 – Birds of a Feather" by Fish in a Birdcage was inspired by Grace O'Malley

Theatre

The play Short-Haired Grace by Bill Breuhl depicting the meeting between O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth debuted at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre Lowell, Massachusetts, 2002
The play Bald Grace by Marki Shalloe debuted at Chicago's Stockyards Theatre in 2005, and was featured at Atlanta's Theatre Gael (America's oldest Irish-American theatre) in 2006.
The Broadway musical The Pirate Queen depicting O'Malley's life debuted at the Hilton Theater in 2007, with Stephanie J. Block portraying O'Malley.
American actress Molly Lyons wrote and starred in a one-woman show titled A Most Notorious Woman, detailing the life of O'Malley. It has been produced internationally at theatres and festivals.
The 2015 play Gráinne, by J. Costello, K. Doyle, L. Errity, and A. L. Mentxaka, tells the story of Grace O'Malley in six snapshots. It was premiered by Born to Burn productions in Dublin in November 2015, with an all-woman cast playing three female roles and six male roles. The text of the play was published in a limited edition by artisan publishers Gur Cake Editions.
Irish actress, writer and director Maggie Cronin's first play, a solo show called A Most Notorious Woman: Tales of Grace O'Malley – premiered in 1989.

Literature

James Joyce used the legend of Grace O'Malley ("her grace o'malice") and the Earl of Howth in chapter 1 of his 1939 novel Finnegans Wake.
Morgan Llywelyn wrote a 1986 historical fiction titled Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas.
Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland make extensive reference to her via written correspondence from one of the prominent characters throughout their 2017 novel The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Siobhán Parkinson wrote a historical fiction book in 2019 in Irish titled Gráinne – Gaiscíoch Gael (Gráinne – Hero of the Irish). Cois Life. .
John Crowley's 2022 novel Flint and Mirror includes the character Gráinne O’Malley. .

Statues

At Westport House – see above.
Outside "Old St Pat's" Church, Chicago
Medlicott Street, Newport, Mayo

Other

Grace O'Malley Park in Howth, Ireland commemorates her supposed attempt in 1576 to visit the nearby Howth Castle. According to legend, Granuaile temporarily abducted a family member after being denied entry.
Since 1948, the Commissioners of Irish Lights have sailed three vessels named Granuaile. Their current sole light tender, commissioned in 2005, is the most modern serving the coast of the island of Ireland.
In Tampa, Florida, Grace O'Malley is the inspiration for Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley, one of many crews that participate in the Gasparilla Pirate Festival.

References

Sources

(This is a second, American edition of the book above)

Song Carter Ron, Rockin' Ron the friendly pirate (2019) Pirate Grace O'Malley, Album Talk like a pirate Pirate Grace O'Malley

External links

Grace O'Malley" page by Anne Chambers
Gráinne Mhaol, "The Pirate Queen" by Patrick Flannery
Judy Staley's article about Grace O'Malley on Rootsweb
Best of Legends entry on Grace O'Malley
Granuaile story and poem
The song where Grace O'Malley is celebrated, "Óró 'Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile"