Grace O’Malley, also known as Grania Ni Mhaille, was a famous pirate in Ireland during the 16th century. She controlled much of Ireland’s west coast through piracy and trade, and even met Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was born into a successful shipping merchant family and married into the powerful O’Flaherty clan. After her husband’s death, many of the clan joined her at her castle on the Isle of Clare. She expanded her possessions by marrying a second time and employed dozens of ships to tax any vessel found in her territorial waters. She even went to England to meet Queen Elizabeth I to secure the release of her relatives. Despite signing deals to cease any pirating activity against the British, she broke her promises when she learned that Elizabeth was not fulfilling some of her business. She is a legendary figure in Ireland and the subject of many ballads, songs, and stories.
Grace O’Malley is the English name of Ireland’s most famous pirate, Grania Ni Mhaille. A contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Grace controlled much of Ireland’s west coast, relying on piracy and trade to make her fortune. Her power and reputation grew to be so great that she eventually met Elizabeth in England, in one of the most legendary encounters of the 16th century.
Grace O’Malley, daughter of a successful shipping merchant, is believed to have been born around 1530. Her father was the influential head of the O’Malley clan and Grace is believed to have had a formal education. At about age 16, Grace’s family politically married her into the powerful O’Flaherty clan, who had three children. Grace is believed to have been extremely charismatic and popular, and following her husband’s death, many of the O’Flaherty clan chose to leave their ancestral homes and join her at her castle on the Isle of Clare. However, she was cheated out of some of her rightful possessions by rivals, a mistake that would not allow her to happen a second time.
O’Malley was a natural ruler and decided to expand his possessions by marrying a second time. After the end of the first year of marriage, Grace divorced her husband and handled the storm and held on to the strategically important Rockfleet Castle that had belonged to her husband. Grace O’Malley is believed to have had at least one child from this short marriage, and she may have had others out of wedlock.
The powerful woman’s most lucrative method of income relied on a policy similar to that of the territories controlled by England. Grace has employed dozens of ships to tax any vessel found in her territorial waters. Tax collection vessels were ordered to obtain the money by any means, including extreme violence. Because of their superior knowledge of the Irish coast, Grace’s ships could easily escape any vengeful action.
A famous legend about Grace O’Malley occurred during her marriage to Donal O’Flaherty. Donal is believed to have been quite arrogant, having taken a castle from the Joyce clan and boasted about it extensively. The grumpy Joyces called the keep Cock Castle, but the name was changed after Donal’s death. When the Joyce clan attempted to retake the castle from Grace, they were severely beaten for underestimating her abilities. Later, the castle was locally renamed Hen’s Castle.
During Grace’s rule, English rule in Ireland became more widespread and the English government was dissatisfied with O’Malley’s exploits. In 1593, three of Grace’s relatives were taken prisoner by the English and Grace took a dangerous opportunity to go to England to meet the Queen for their release. It is known that the meeting took place in Latin, as Grace O’Malley did not speak English and Elizabeth did not speak Gaelic. Many stories and songs have been written of the long conversation between the two women, one who ruled in name and the other who ruled simply by force. Although no transcripts of the conversation exist, Elizabeth ordered the release of Grace’s relatives and made several other arrangements with her.
Despite signing deals with Elizabeth to cease any pirating activity against the British, Grace O’Malley broke her promises when she learned that Elizabeth was not fulfilling some of her business. She is believed to have died in 1603, the same year as her British contemporary. Grace O’Malley is a legendary figure in today’s Ireland and the subject of many ballads, songs and stories. Her courage and her skills have been translated into characters for books, TV shows and a gossip film.
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