Gráinne O'Malley
| Grace O'Malley / Grainne Ní Mháille | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1530 Connacht, Ireland |
| Died |
c. 1603 (aged 72–73) most likely Rockfleet Castle |
| Spouse(s) | (1)Dónal an-Chogaidh O'Flaherty, (2)Richard-an-Iarainn Burke |
| Piratical career | |
| Nickname | Gráinne Mhaol, Granuaile |
| Allegiance | Ó Máille |
| Battles/wars | Nine Years War (Ireland) |
Grace O'Malley (c. 1530 – c. 1603; also Gráinne O'Malley,Irish: Gráinne Ní Mháille) was chieftain of the Ó Máille clan in the west of Ireland, following in the footsteps of her father Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. Commonly known as Gráinne Mhaol (anglicised as Granuaile) in Irish folklore, she is a well-known historical figure in 16th-century Irish history, and is sometimes known as "The Sea Queen of Connacht". She was well-educated and regarded by contemporaries as being exceptionally formidable and competent.
Her name was rendered in contemporary English documents in various ways, including Gráinne O'Maly, Graney O'Mally, Grainne Ní Maille, Granny ni Maille, Grany O'Mally, Grayn Ny Mayle, Grane ne Male, Grainy O'Maly, and Granee O'Maillie.
Upon her father's death she inherited his large shipping and trading business (a trade sometimes referred to as mere piracy). Through income from this business, land inherited from her mother, and property and holdings from her first husband, Dónal an Chogaidh (Dónal "the warlike") Ó Flaithbheartaigh, O'Malley was very wealthy (reportedly owning as much as 1,000 head of cattle and horses). In 1593, when her sons Tibbot Burke (Tiobóid de Búrca) and Murrough O'Flaherty (Murchadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh), and her half-brother Dónal an Phíopa ("Dónal of the Pipes") were taken captive by the English governor of Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham, O'Malley sailed to England to petition for their release. She formally presented her request to Elizabeth I at her court in Greenwich Palace.
O'Malley was born in Ireland around 1530, when Henry VIII was King of England and held the title Lord of Ireland. Under the policies of the English government at the time, the semi-autonomous Irish princes and lords were left mostly to their own devices. However this was to change over the course of O'Malley's life as the Tudor conquest of Ireland gathered pace.
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