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

Grace O’Malley is indeed a spectacular figure in Irish History from the 16th century, and as a woman in a 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 Queen 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. She is from a later period than the historical cycle. However, her ancestry dates to the historical period, the kings of Ulster prior to the 10th century.

Grace was born in Ireland in 1530 into the O’Malley family whose base was in Clew Bay, Co. Mayo, North West of Ireland. They were a seafaring family who had castles built along the west coast overlooking their territory. She was the daughter of Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille, and her mother was Maeve or Margaret. She had a half brother from her father’s side named Dónal na Piopa. The O’Malleys were an ancient clan and monitored their waters closely taxing fishermen who travelled far and entered their waters. In her early life, Irish Princes and Lords still had autonomy over their territories. However, with the rise to power of Queen Elizabeth I, the Tudor regime would soon have an impact on her life.

Being from the nobility class, Grace O’Malley was formally educated and spoke many languages including Latin, French, Spanish, English and Gaelic. Her travels and overseas trading also played a part in her education, opening her world to many different cultures and races.

Grace married Dónal an Chogaidh Ó Flaithbheartaigh, who was heir to the O’Flaherty title. She bore him three children, Owen, Margaret and Murrough. Later, the latter betrayed his family by siding with the English forces. Her husband Dónal was killed in battle and Grace returned to Mayo to her own family residence and gained the loyal support of many of the O’Flaherty followers. In 1566, she married Risdeárd an Iarainn Bourke. It has been stated that the marriage was a move on Grace’s side to enlarge her holdings and wealth. They married under Brehon Law, which was for one year and, after this time, Grace divorced Risdeárd and kept his castle, called Rockfleet Castle which today is open to the public. Grace and Risdeárd had one son named Theobald who was later knighted as Sir Theobald Bourke and became first Viscount Mayo in 1626 by King Charles I.

Grace O’Malley was a formidable woman who controlled the English in her own territory around Clew Bay. She became involved in business and international trading from an early age and successfully built up a business empire in selling and trading. At first, she was refused to join the fleets on sail. Therefore, she began doing it herself from her first husband’s home at Bunowen Castle. Following his death, she moved her business base to Clew Bay in Mayo. It was during the time following the death of her first husband that the city leaders of Galway complained to the English Council in Dublin that Grace O’Malley’s fleets were behaving like pirates. Due to the heavy taxes imposed by Galway city on trading vessels, Grace imposed her own taxes, stopping ships and boarding them, demanding money or part of the cargo. She recruited men from Ireland and Scotland, and on her return trips to Ireland from Scotland, she would plunder the Scottish islands.

The English conquest at this time was rising in Ireland and an effort was made to take control of the Irish holdings. Grace went to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, offering fighting men to serve English interests in order to keep favour with him. The fleets of Grace O’Malley continued to attack ships and coastal fortresses all around the coast of Ireland. She became a very wealthy woman with castles, land, fleets of ships and herds of cattle, horses and sheep.

Many tales have been written of her exploits, and one such tale recounts that in 1576, she attempted to pay a visit while in Dublin to Howth Castle to see the 8th Baron Howth, Christopher Lawrence. She was informed that the family was at dinner and the castle gates were closed, refusing to allow her entry. In retaliation, she abducted the Earl's grandson and heir, the 10th Baron of Howth. Soon afterwards, Grace released him when a promise was given to keep the gates open to unexpected visitors and to set an extra place at every meal. Lord Howth gave Grace a ring as pledge on the agreement. The ring remains in the possession of a descendant of Grace O’Malley and is at Howth Castle today. The agreement is still honoured by the Gaisford St. Lawrence family, descendants of the Baron.

As the power of the English over Ireland continued to grow, it began to enclose on Grace’s power and this was to lead to the famous encounter when she met her rival and contemporary Queen Elizabeth I of England. Following the capture of her sons, Grace sailed to England, and the two women met at 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 conversation between the two women was in Latin and Grace asked for the release of her sons that were taken captive by the English Governor to Ireland Sir Richard Bingham. The two women reached an agreement that Elizabeth would remove Richard Bingham from Ireland and Grace would stop supporting the Irish Lords’ rebellions against the English. Grace was three years older than Elizabeth and the two women developed an unusual friendship. Grace and Elizabeth lived parallel lives, one commanding on the high seas and the other from a castle in England. Incidentally, they died in the same year in 1603. Shortly after removing Bingham from Ireland, Elizabeth reinstated him and Grace knew her meeting with Elizabeth had been unsuccessful, thus continued to support the Irish rebellions. The policy of “Surrender or Regrant” was being enforced at this time, wherein the Irish nobility classes would surrender loyalty to the crown of England in return for titles and keeping their properties. Grace did not choose this and fought in the rebellions against the English.

Grace O’Malley had many legendary exploits. Her name rang out for many years after her death as a great leader of fighting men. It was on the foundation stones of one of her castles that Westport House was built in the eighteenth century, owned today by the 11th Marquess of Sligo. 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.

O’Malley’s 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 you to explore her life and discover who this truly amazing woman was that commanded a fleet of ships, an army of men, fought for her family and her land, and let no man, woman or country stand in her way.

Literature & Culture Corner Blog

Est. 2012