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Grace O'Malley was a remarkable figure, but not that well known, despite her incredible life story. She was a multifaceted and complex person-to some she was an Irish freedom fighter and others regarded her as a pirate and brigand. Even her enemies came to respect her though.
Grace O'Malley: Legendary Irish Leader
Grace was born in 1530 AD, in Connacht, Ireland. The O’ Malley clan chieftain was her father (a family notorious for their “shipping business,” an euphemism for piracy). The times she lived in was a period of change, Ireland was in the process of being conquered by England in the 16th century, and the Gaelic culture she grew up in was starting to be suppressed. The Irish knew her as Gráinne Ni Mháille.
At age sixteen she was married to the head of the O’ Flaherty clan, but when he was killed in battle she became their leader. Around the time of his death, in 1564, the reports of Grace’s piracy begun to emerge, which she perpetrated with a 200-man private army. She remarried with the powerful Irish chief Richard Burke. After one year though he came back to his castle to find his clothes packed, doors locked and Grace announcing their divorce from the battlements. She got to keep Rockfleet castle, which she used as a base henceforth. In 1579 a certain Captain Martin was ordered by the English to besiege her stronghold, but he was lucky to escape with his life “so spirited was the defence made by the extraordinary woman."
The English were becoming increasingly more powerful in the late 16th century, which led her to clash more and more with them. In 1593 her two sons were captured by the English and she sailed with her ships up the Thames River in London to petition Queen Elizabeth I for their release. Their conversation had to be conducted in Latin, because O’ Malley knew no English, Elizabeth I knew no Gaelic; but nevertheless there was admiration for each other from both sides. They reached a truce, with Grace agreeing not to attack English ships anymore, and in return her sons were returned to her. In 1603 she died peacefully in Rockfleet Castle, with reports circulating that she still led her fleets personally almost up to the day of her death.
Thank you for reading!
Grace O'Malley was a remarkable figure, but not that well known, despite her incredible life story. She was a multifaceted and complex person-to some she was an Irish freedom fighter and others regarded her as a pirate and brigand. Even her enemies came to respect her though.
Grace O'Malley: Legendary Irish Leader
Grace was born in 1530 AD, in Connacht, Ireland. The O’ Malley clan chieftain was her father (a family notorious for their “shipping business,” an euphemism for piracy). The times she lived in was a period of change, Ireland was in the process of being conquered by England in the 16th century, and the Gaelic culture she grew up in was starting to be suppressed. The Irish knew her as Gráinne Ni Mháille.
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| Rockfleet Castle in County Mayo, Ireland. |
At age sixteen she was married to the head of the O’ Flaherty clan, but when he was killed in battle she became their leader. Around the time of his death, in 1564, the reports of Grace’s piracy begun to emerge, which she perpetrated with a 200-man private army. She remarried with the powerful Irish chief Richard Burke. After one year though he came back to his castle to find his clothes packed, doors locked and Grace announcing their divorce from the battlements. She got to keep Rockfleet castle, which she used as a base henceforth. In 1579 a certain Captain Martin was ordered by the English to besiege her stronghold, but he was lucky to escape with his life “so spirited was the defence made by the extraordinary woman."
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| An illustration of the meeting between Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I (from Anthologia Hibernica, vol. 11, 1793) |
The English were becoming increasingly more powerful in the late 16th century, which led her to clash more and more with them. In 1593 her two sons were captured by the English and she sailed with her ships up the Thames River in London to petition Queen Elizabeth I for their release. Their conversation had to be conducted in Latin, because O’ Malley knew no English, Elizabeth I knew no Gaelic; but nevertheless there was admiration for each other from both sides. They reached a truce, with Grace agreeing not to attack English ships anymore, and in return her sons were returned to her. In 1603 she died peacefully in Rockfleet Castle, with reports circulating that she still led her fleets personally almost up to the day of her death.
Thank you for reading!
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