The history of the Irish people can never be complete without mentioning the name of Grace O’Malley. She was an Irish warrior, captain, pirate, rebel and lord of the O’Malley dynasty of County Mayo in the western province of Connacht. Grace O’Malley’s achievements are all the more amazing given that she was born in a time when women were only seen and not heard. Learn about the life story of this brave and fearless queen of the sea.
Grace O’Malley Biography
Grace O’Malley was born in 1530 at her family’s Belclare Castle in the Clew Bay area of Western Ireland. Her father’s name was Eoghan Dubhdara O’Malley while her mother’s name was Maeve Ní Mháille (anglicised version – Margaret). At the time Grace was born, Ireland was semi-independent from the direct rule of England. While the English ruled the east of Ireland, the west of Ireland was fairly autonomous and was divided into around 40 “kingdoms” ruled by different dynasties.
One such dynasty was the O’Malley dynasty. Grace’s father was the lord of the O’Malley dynasty. The dynasty not only controlled the Clew Bay area and its shores, but also ruled a “village” called Murrisk in County Mayo. The O’Malleys were a legendary seafaring family. They benefited from shipping, ferries and trade in countries like France, Spain and Portugal. The dynasty was known for being ruthless pirates. They plundered ships that passed through their banks to get to the famous trading city of Galway. In addition, the dynasty taxed fishermen who wanted to fish off their coast.
Interesting facts about the pirate queen
During her childhood, Grace O’Malley spent time at Belclare Castle and Clare Island. Grace was what you could call a feminist. Not content with just staying at home and cooking, she wanted to work alongside her father and demanded that he take her on his next trip. According to the story, her father didn’t want her to come along, thinking she would just be a nuisance. He therefore apologized that her hair was too long and would tangle in the ship’s lines or ropes. Undeterred, Grace went ahead and cut her hair off. When her father came out the next morning, she was already waiting for him and her father had no choice but to take her with him.
This would be the first of many trips she would take with her father. She proved to be a better sailor than most and quickly learned the ropes of the family trade. Grace proved so capable that when her father died, she was created Lord of the O’Malley dynasty, ahead of her older brother.
Their marriage
Grace O’Malley was married to men who had the political capital to pursue her ambition. At 15 she married Donal O’Flaherty, heir to the O’Flaherty dynasty which ruled the entire province of Connacht. They had three children together namely Owen, Margaret and Murrough. Donal was killed in an attack by a rival clan in 1565. Grace was 23 at the time. Though grieving, Grace was able to mobilize both her and her husband’s men and drive out the raiders who had taken over her husband’s castle.
After that, Grace returned to Clare Island. She integrated her husband’s resources into the operations of the O’Malley dynasty and was able to greatly increase her fortune. She commanded fleets of ships and had up to 200 men under her control. She also controlled several castles including O’Malley Castle on Clare Island, Doona Castle (which she took from the MacMahon clan) and Rockfleet Castle (which belonged to her second husband). She continued to collect fees from ships passing through Clew Bay, and on a few occasions outright looted and looted the ships.
In 1566, Grace O’Malley married RichardBurke, whose family were the overlords of all of County Mayo. They had one child together, Tibbot Burke. Grace briefly divorced Richard after just a year of marriage, but they reconciled and remained together until his death.
relationship with the English
The English imposed their monarchy on Ireland in 1542 and Grace supported other Irish lords who were in open rebellion against the English. Seizing every opportunity to undermine the English, she refused to submit to the control of Sir Richard Bingham, the Englishman who had been imposed as governor of the province of Connacht. When their rebellious activities became unbearable, the English raided their castle on Clare Island in 1579, but they were thoroughly defeated.
A dispute broke out in 1593, when Sir Richard Bingham captured and imprisoned two of Grace’s sons, as well as her half-brother, Dónal na Píopa. Grace had no choice but to meet Queen Elizabeth in England to secure her release. She had an interesting audience with the Queen. According to legend, she refused to bow to the queen, not recognizing her as the ruler of Ireland. Also, Grace wore a dagger under her dress, which she allegedly brought with her for protection. Grace and the Queen discussed Latin and the Queen agreed to most of Grace’s demands. Her family was freed and the governor was briefly removed but later reinstated. This angered Grace, who saw it as a betrayal of an agreement. So she returned
Grace O’Malley died at Rockfleet Castle in 1603 and was buried in the Cistercian Abbey on Clare Island.