Who is Tale of Grace O'Malley, Warrior Woman & Pirate Queen !

Across the sea in England another woman was also overcoming the many obstacles placed in her path to power and dominion. This woman was none other than Elizabeth Tudor, soon to be Queen of England, and one day these two extraordinary women would meet!

Meanwhile, armed with her own army of men 200 strong, and a fleet of galleys, Granuaile launched into her career of mercenary work and piracy, which she would later describe to Elizabeth as "maintenance" by land and sea.  One story that demonstrates the fierceness of this remarkable woman tells of how after discovering the murder of her Norse lover by a neighboring clan, Granuaile tracked down his killers and slew them one by one, then claimed their castle as her own.  It was this incident that earned her the name, "Dark Lady of Doona".  

In 1566 Granuaile married once again, however this time she did the choosing for herself.  She had her eye on Carraigahowley Castle, located on an inlet of Clew Bay and legend tells us that she married the owner, Richard Bourke "for one year certain",  a trial marriage by Gaelic law.  It is said that after one year of marriage and having her men firmly in possession of the castle, she greeted her husband on his return home by shouting from the ramparts, "Richard Bourke I dismiss you!"  However, they did later reconcile and together they became an imposing pair in a marriage that lasted until his death, 17 years later. 

The merchant ships from England, Spain and France, heavy laden with merchandise were no match for her highly maneuverable galleys or for her knowledge of the rocky, rugged and very dangerous west coast of Ireland and so became sitting ducks.  By the early 1570's, Granuaile's fleet numbered some 20 ships, and her blatant piracy was so adversely effecting the financial well being of the English merchants at Galway city that they complained to the English for assistance.  An army was dispatched to put a stop to this "director
of  thieves and murderers at sea", however, after enduring a 21 day siege she was finally able to successfully route her besiegers!

Their only child Tibbot-ne-Long (Toby of The Ships) was born in 1567 while Granuaile was coming back from one of her excursions at sea.  Legend tells us that the morning following his birth, while she still lay in her childbirth bed, her ship was attacked by Turkish pirates.  Without her rousing presence up on deck her men were losing control of the ship and so armed with a blunderbuss and her body wrapped in a blanket, she stormed up on deck.  Cursing her men for not being able to do without her for even one day, she shot the Turkish pirate captain yelling "take this from unconsecrated hands!"  Thus, she rallied her men and took back control of her ship.... as well as adding another ship to her own pirate fleet......

When Richard died in 1583, Granuaile quickly established her rights to Carraigahowley Castle.  A wealthy woman in her own right, as well as her ships and her army, she inherited land from her mother and had accumulated, according to her own testimony "a thousand head of cattle and mares."   She continued her "maintenance" on land and sea and her notoriety as a powerful sea captain, pirate and leader of "men of savage mood" grew.  At this same time, hostilities between England and Spain had intensified dramatically and the need for the English to bring Ireland under control intensified as well.  It was during this period that Elizabeth sent a new governor to Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham.  Bingham proved to be brutal and unrelenting in his obsession with putting down this "nurse to all rebellions in Ireland for forty years", and would become the hated arch enemy of Granuaile!

The land bore the scars of the constant war as Bingham determined to bring the
chieftains of Connacht to their knees, and as his campaign intensified, one by one the Mayo chieftains fell in fierce battle or submitted to Bingham. Granuaile held out to the last, but in 1593, when Bingham captured her youngest son, Tibbott, she decided to go over the head of the tyrant and take her case directly to Queen Elizabeth herself! When Bingham threatened to hang her son, Granuaile set sail for England! At a time when most male Irish Chieftains would not have dared set foot in England, the Queen not only permitted her an audience, but legend has it that the two women looked upon one another with a mutual respect founded in the adversity of two powerful women in a man's world.

Granuaile left England with a pardon and an order for Sir Richard to supply her with a pension. Her son was soon released by order of the Queen and Sir Richard was replaced in two years. Granuaile died in 1603, in her own home, Carraigahowley (Rockfleet) Castle, a pirate to the end. Legend tells us that she was buried in the O'Malley family crypt out on Clare Island.

Granuaile lived through turbulent times, her life touched by sometimes savage adversity on almost a daily basis. She would never, however, have considered herself a victim. Let us take her lead and as we look back on many of our own lives, where once we saw fear, let us now discover our own courage and our own bravery.

Where once we saw what we thought of as our own victimhood, let us now see the strength of our will to survive!

Let her fierce and daring path stand as a beacon of courage and strength for women the world over.

Granuaile...my Pirate Queen of Connacht, I solute you!