Grace O'Malley - Warrior Queen (1530 - 1603)

Grace O'Malley

Written by Ben Kesp

Grace O’Malley is indeed a spectacular figure in Irish History and as a woman in a very male dominated society it did not hold her back. She believed that she was as capable if not better than any man and declared herself Chieftain of the O'Malley clan after her father’s death. Grace has been known by many names, “Granuaile” in Irish, “The Sea Queen of Connaught”, “Pirate Queen” to mention a few and her life has been documented in detail by historian Anne Chambers.

I recently watched an excellent documentary by New Zealand Actress Lucy Lawless where she hosted five one hour series on history’s most charismatic warrior women. Lucy Lawless was superbly suited to present this series after having her own successful television show “Xena Warrior Princess” which aired in the 1990s. The documentary provides an excellent background to Grace O’Malley and of her life as a leader, warrior, pirate and mother. The documentary can be viewed at:

Grace O'Malley

Grace O’Malley was a formidable woman who took control of her clan, grabbed what she wanted, whether it was land or a castle, controlled the English in her own territory around Clew Bay and especially for the famous encounter where she met her rival and contemporary Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Grace and Elizabeth

Grace fought for her clan and territory against the locals, the English and Queen Elizabeth I. Grace and Elizabeth lived parallel lives and they died in the same year in 1603. Grace was three years older. The two women developed an unusual friendship after Grace visited Elizabeth in England to ask for the release of her sons that were taken captive by the English Governor to Ireland Sir Richard Bingham. The two women met in Greenwich Palace surrounded by guards and members of Elizabeth’s royal court. Grace refused to bow to Elizabeth as she did not recognise her as Queen of Ireland. The conversations between the two women were in Latin and an agreement was reached that Elizabeth would remove Richard Bingham from Ireland and Grace would stop supporting the Irish Lords rebellions against the English.

Grace O’Malley had many legendary exploits and several castles in the West of Ireland. It was on the foundation stones of one of her castles that Westport House was built in the eighteenth century. Part of the original castle walls still exist today in the dungeons of the house which is open to visitors. Westport House displays an exhibition on the life of Grace O’Malley at its museum.

Her life has inspired many musicians, authors, actors and film makers. There are too many works to mention here but needless to say Grace’s story has been told many times in different forms. I would encourage that you explore her life and discover who this truly amazing woman was that commanded a fleet of ships, an army of men, who fought for her family, her land and she let no man/woman or country stand in her way.

Westport House, County Mayo