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EARLY LIFE Grace was born into early 16th Century Ireland , when Henry VIII was on the throne of England . 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 as her life went on and the Tudor Re-conquest Of Ireland gathered pace. Grace was the daughter of Owen Dubhdarra O'Malley, chieftain of the O'Malley clan. The O'Malleys controlled most of what is now the barony of Murrisk in South-West County Mayo and recognised as their nominal overlords the gaelicised anglo-norman Burke or de Burgo family who controlled much of what is now that county. Unusually among the Irish nobility of the time, the O' Malleys were a great seafaring family and taxed all those who fished off their coasts, which included fishermen from as far away as England. Their leader bore the ancient Irish title of The O' Malley. According to Irish legend, as a young girl Grace wished to go on a trading expedition to Spain with her father, and on being told she could not because her long hair would catch in the ship's ropes, cut off her hair to embarrass her father into taking her, and thus earning her the nickname "Gráinne Mhaol" () ( Irish ''maol'' meaning "bald" or having cropped hair); the name stuck. MARRIAGE TO O'FLAHERTY Grace was married in 1546 at a young age to Donal an Chogaidh (Donal of the Battles) O'Flaherty, tánaiste or heir to the O'Flaherty title. Grace bore three children during this marriage. Later the warlike Donal was killed in battle, and Grace recaptured a castle from the Joyces that had been his (now Hen's Castle in Lough Corrib). Grace afterwards returned to Mayo and took up residence at the family castle or tower-house on Clare Island . SECOND MARRIAGE Grace later married a second time to Richard-an-Iarainn Burke, called "Richard-in-Iron", an appropriate corruption of his Irish name as he always wore a coat of mail. He was owner of Rockfleet Castle near Newport . According to tradition they married under Brehon Law 'for one year certain', and although it is said that when the year was up Grace divorced Richard and kept the castle, they remained married for many more years until his death. Rockfleet remained for centuries in the O' Malley family and is today open to the public. They had one son, Tibbot Burke nicknamed Tiobóid na Long (Tibbot of the Ships). Tibbot was later given the title of Viscount Mayo. ATTACK FROM GALWAY Grace engaged in piracy and her castle at Clare Island was attacked by an expedition from Galway who wanted to get rid of her. Grace, however, put them to flight and they barely escaped. Later Grace was captured but released some time afterward. LATER LIFE In the later 16th century English power steadily increased in Ireland and Grace's power was steadily encroached upon. Finally, in 1593, when her sons, Tibbot Burke and Murrough O'Flaherty, and her half-brother, Donal-na-Piopa, were taken captive by the English governor of Connaught, Sir Richard Bingham, Grace sailed to England to petition Elizabeth I Of England for their release. When they met at Grenwich, Grace famously refused to bow before Queen Elizabeth because she was herself a Queen, and not a subject of the Queen of England. Elizabeth apparently took to Grace, who was approximately the same age, and the two women reached sufficient agreement for Elizabeth to grant Grace's requests provided Grace's piracy against Great Britain ended. However, she later returned to her old ways, though nominally directing her raids against the "enemies of England " during the Nine Years War (Ireland) . She is said to have died at Rockfleet Castle in 1603, the same year as Elizabeth. FICTIONAL PORTRAYALS Grace's adventurous life has inspired musicians, novelists and playwrights to create works based on her life. The latest artistic project inspired by Grace is the upcoming musical play '' The Pirate Queen '' by Alain Boublil , Claude-Michel Schönberg and John Dempsey , which will debut at Chicago 's Cadillac Palace Theatre in fall 2006 , with American stage actor Stephanie J. Block as Grania (Grace). Author Bertrice Small portrays Grace O'Malley in several of her books, particularly in "Skye O'Malley", where Grace is a kinswoman to the main character. EXTERNAL LINKS
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