Grace O'Malley

Grace O'Mally's Tower house

Gráinne Ní Mháille [ grɑːnʲə NI vɑːlʲə ] called Granuaile [ graːnʲuəlʲə ], also Gráinne Mhaol [ grɑːnʲə VIL ] ( maol [ MIL ] means the Irish "bald" or "clipped"), English Grace O'Malley (* 1530 in Clare Iceland in the west of Ireland ; † 1603 probably at Rockfleet Castle ) was an Irish pirate and an important figure in Irish history in the early modern period. Many legends and stories have grown up about her life and her deeds as a military opponent of English policy towards Ireland in the age of Queen Elizabeth I. She was the daughter of the Irish clan chief Owen Dubhdara ("black oak") O'Malley (ir. Eoghan Dubhdaire Ó Máille).

Life

Gráinne Mhaol Ní Mháille (also known as Granuaile, Grania, Anglicised Grace O'Malley) was born around 1530 as the daughter of the Irish clan chief Owen O'Malley and his wife Margaret. According to some sources, she is said to have been born at sea. She comes from the O'Malleys clan ( Irish : Uí Mháille). Gráinne grew up in an area with constant threat from land and water and was passionate about the sea and navigation as a child. Piracy was common there back then. Gráinne learned the craft of navigating from her father . In total, she was fluent in five languages: first Gaelic and Latin , then French, Spanish and Greek, but no English.

At 16, she married Dónall an Chogaidh (Donall von den Schlachten, actually ir. Dónall Ó Flaithearta, Donall O'Flaherty), the leader of the O'Flaherty clan (Ó Flaithearta), who had sat at Aughnanure Castle in Connemara since around 1500 . They had three children: Eoghan (Owen), Maor (Murrough) and Margaret. Donal later fell in the fight. Now Gráinne took over the defense of the castle, also against the advancing English. Her success gave Gráinne her own following, unusual for an Irish woman of the time. Unable to succeed Donall, she returned to Clare Island with a large number of devoted followers and ran the family business there. Chosen by her clan to head the O'Malleys, she managed to create a unique wealth and prosperity with planned and successful pirate trips. Her second husband was Richard an Iarainn (Anglicized: Richard in Iron), who died in 1583 while Gráinne was in prison.

Both the O'Malleys and O'Flahertys clans lived off the sea. They traded, but also made money looting ships and coastal towns. Gráinne took over a number of castles or had them built. She extended her raids, her following grew, and thus came into conflict with England . Queen Elizabeth I of England drove the colonization of Ireland further and put a bounty on Gráinne. Sir Richard Bingham (governor in Galway from 1584 ) took massive action against Gráinne Ní Mháille. At first she managed to assert herself against the English. She was captured in a skirmish and locked in a dungeon in Limerick in 1578 , later in Dublin. She escaped in an unexplained way. Finally, she turned to Queen Elizabeth I with a petition asking for protection. During a personal visit to Elisabeth's court in 1593, she justified her sea attacks as the only way to secure the livelihood of her people. In return for Elisabeth's courtesy, she offered to fight all enemies of England "all her life with sword and fire".

Grace O'Malley and Elizabeth I.

Despite warnings from Bingham, Ní Mháille was granted protection and she was acquitted on all counts. Gráinne Ní Mháille saw herself as a queen and thus equal to Elizabeth I, moreover she did not recognize the English queen as the queen of Ireland. Their conversation was conducted in Latin, as Ní Mháille did not speak English and Elisabeth did not speak Irish. Elisabeth left the captured sons Tibbot Burk (ir.Tibóid na Long (a) - Tibbot or Theobald von der Schiff, from 2nd marriage) and Murrough O'Flaherty (Maor Ó Flaithearta) and her half-brother Dónall na Piopa (Donell O'Piper , Donall with the pipe) from Ní Mháille. Both sons of Gráinne Ní Mháille were established as clan leaders under English law. She herself was allowed to continue her raids, but under the English flag. Her demands on Elizabeth were only partially met, which is why Ní Mháille continued to support the Irish rebels.

According to some sources, Gráinne Mhaol Ní Mháille died on June 18, 1599, according to others not until 1603. Her place of death is uncertain, but Rockfleet Castle is under discussion. Some researchers suspect that their bones were buried in the family vault on Clare Island .

Of its numerous castles, there are still Rockfleet Castle (built in 1574, English: Carrickahowley Castle from Irish: Caisleán Charraig an Cabhlaigh ), a residential tower on the edge of Clew Bay , Carrick-Kildawnet Castle (Irish: Caisleán Charraig Chilldamhnait , also Caisleán Ghráinne - Gráinnes ( Graces) Castle), a residential tower on Achill Island and the donjon on Clare Island ( Clare Island Castle , Irish: Caisleán Oileán Cléire ). Other castles such as Aughnanure (ir .: Caisleán Achadh na nIubhar (Eibenfeldburg)) and Hen (ir .: Caisleán-an-Cearca ) in Lough Corrib are partly or completely in ruins. Her son Tibbot was murdered from behind in 1629 . His grave in Ballintober Abbey in County Mayo can be visited.

Later reception

There are few written sources about her life. Granuaile was popular because of their successful pirate trips, but also because of their alleged gentleness towards the crews of the captured ships. She was called "Queen of Connaught " and "The Pirate Queen" and had the status of a national heroine . Numerous Irish ballads and poems are about Granuaile. The folk song Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile ( Oro, you are welcome home ) celebrates the return of Grace O'Malley after her captivity and is still taught to the children today. Sinéad O'Connor interpreted the song on her 2002 album Sean-Nós Nua.

In 1985 the Irish composer Shaun Davey recorded his cantata “Granuaille” on the life of Ní Mháille. The piece premiered in Cork , as it did when it was recorded with Rita Conolly ( alto ) and Liam O'Flynn ( Uilleann Pipes ). Since April 5, 2007, following the previews running since March 6, the musical "The Pirate Queen" about the life of O'Malleys has been running in the Hilton Theater on Broadway in New York. There Grace O'Malley is played by Stefanie J. Block.

In the west of Ireland, Gráinne's home, a museum is dedicated to her in Louisburgh , County Mayo on the Atlantic .

In 1991 the German author Manfred Böckl published the novel The nine lives of Grainne O'Malley. The adventures of an Irish pirate . In the same year I - Grace O'Malley by Franjo Terhart also appeared .

See also

• Gráinne (first name)
• Granuaile (ship)
• The Pirate Queen

literature

• Manfred Böckl : The nine lives of Grainne O'Malley . Nymphenburger Verlag, Munich 1991; ISBN 3-485-08227-9
• Anne Chambers: Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen C. 1530-1603 . Wolfhound Press (IE), Dublin 2003; ISBN 0-86327-913-9
• Anne Chambers: Granuaile - The Life and Times of Grace O'Malley . Wolfhound Press (IE), Dublin 1979; ISBN 0-905473-31-0
• Sabine Dillner: The pirate: The life of Grania O'Malley . Ueberreuter, Vienna 2007; ISBN 3-8000-5235-0
• Heinz Fischer: Courage of Women - Life Pictures from World History dtv, Munich 2006; ISBN 3-423-34375-3
• Ulrike Gerold, Wolfram Hänel: Who was Grace O'Malley? Publishing house Jacoby & Stuart, Berlin 2009; ISBN 978-3-941087-27-9
• Alan Gold: The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate . ISBN 0-451-21744-6
• Morgan Llywelyn: Pirate Queen . The O'Brian Press, Dublin 2001 / reprint 2006; ISBN 0-86278-974-5
• Robin Maxwell: The Wild Irish: A Novel of Elizabeth I and the Pirate O'Malley . HarperCollins Publishers, New York 2004; ISBN 0-06-009143-6
• Diana Norman : The Pirate Queen . dtv, Munich 1996, 2006; ISBN 3-423-20683-7 and ISBN 3-423-20879-1
• Franjo Terhart: Me, Grace O'Malley. The adventurous story of an Irish pirate . AKV Edition Hamouda, Leipzig 2007; ISBN 3-940075-04-3

Web links

• Celtic roots