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Gráinne Ní Mháille (c. 1530 –c. 1603 ), also known as '''Granuaile''' or '''Gráinne Mhaol''', known in English as '''Grace O'Malley''', is an important figure in Irish Legend but was in fact a larger-than-life figure from 16th Century Irish History . O'Malley is sometimes known as "The Sea Queen Of Connaught". EARLY LIFE O'Malley was born in Ireland in 1530, 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 over the course of her life and the Tudor Re-conquest Of Ireland gathered pace. She was the daughter of Owen Dubhdara 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 O'Malley 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,she cut off most of her hair to embarrass her father into taking her, thus earning her the nickname "Gráinne Mhaol" () ( Irish ''maol'' meaning "bald" or having cropped hair); the name stuck. MARRIAGE TO O'FLAHERTY O'Malley was married in 1546 at a young age to Donal an Chogaidh (Donal of the Battle) O'Flaherty, tánaiste or heir to the O'Flaherty title. She bore three children during this marriage:
Later the warlike Donal was killed in battle, and O'Malley recaptured a castle from the Joyces that had been his (now Hen's Castle in Lough Corrib). She afterwards returned to Mayo and took up residence at the family castle or tower-house on Clare Island . SECOND MARRIAGE O'Malley later was 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 O'Malley divorced Burke 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 . REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITY O'Malley engaged in revolutionary activity against the English crown. Her castle at Clare Island was attacked by an expedition from Galway intended to get rid of her. However, they were put to flight and barely escaped. Later O'Malley was captured, but released some time afterward. A widespread legend concerns an incident at Howth , which apparently occurred in 1576. During a trip from Dublin, O'Malley attempted to pay a courtesy visit to Howth Castle , home of the 8th Baron Howth . However, she was informed that the family was at dinner and the castle gates were closed against her. In retaliation, she abducted the Earl's son and heir, the 10th Baron. He was eventually released when a promise was given to keep the gates open to unexpected visitors, and to set an extra place at every meal. At Howth Castle today, this agreement is still honoured by the Gaisford St. Lawrence family, descendants of the Baron. MEETING WITH ELIZABETH In the later 16th century English power steadily increased in Ireland and O'Malley'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 , O'Malley sailed to England to petition Elizabeth I Of England for their release. Elizabeth apparently took to O'Malley, who was three years older, and the two women reached sufficient agreement for Elizabeth to grant O'Malley's requests provided that her support of many Irish rebellions and piracy against Great Britain ended. Their discussion was carried out in Latin , as O'Malley spoke no English and Elizabeth spoke no Irish. Elizabeth I famously sent O'Malley a list of questions, which she answered and returned to Elizabeth. O'Malley then came to England (as previously stated) to petition the release of her sons and half-brother. She met with Elizabeth at Greenwich Palace, wearing a fine gown, the two of them surrounded by guards and the members of Elizabeth's royal Court. O'Malley refused to bow before Elizabeth because she did not recognize her as the Queen of Ireland, and wished to show Elizabeth this. It is also rumored that O'Malley had a dagger concealed about her person, which guards found upon searching her. Elizabeth's courtiers were said to be very upset and worried, but O'Malley informed the queen that she carried it for her own safety--Elizabeth accepted this and, though the dagger was removed from O'Malley's possession, did not seem to worry. Some also reported that O'Malley sneezed and was given a lace-edged handkerchief from a noblewoman. She apparently blew her nose into the handkerchief and then threw the piece of cloth into a nearby fireplace, much to the shock of the court. O'Malley amusedly informed Elizabeth and her court that, in Ireland, a used handkerchief was considered dirty and was destroyed. O'Malley and Elizabeth, after much talk, agreed to a list of demands. For example, Elizabeth was to remove Richard Bingham from his position in Ireland, and O'Malley was to stop supporting the Irish Lords' rebellions. O'Malley sailed back to Ireland, and the meeting seemed to have done some good, for Richard Bingham was removed from service. However, several of O'Malley's other demands (ie. the return of the cattle and land that Bingham had stolen from her, for instance) remained unmet, and within a rather short period of time, Elizabeth sent Bingham back to Ireland. Upon Bingham's return, O'Malley realized that the meeting with Elizabeth had been useless, and went back to supporting Irish rebellions. LATER LIFE Despite the meeting, O'Malley later returned to her old ways, though nominally directing her raids against the "enemies of England " during the Nine Years War (Ireland) . She most likely died at Rockfleet Castle in 1603, the same year as Elizabeth, though the year and place of her death are disputed. CULTURAL IMPACT O'Malley's adventurous life has inspired musicians, novelists and playwrights to create works based on her life. The latest artistic project is the musical play '' The Pirate Queen '' by Alain Boublil , Claude-Michel Schönberg , Richard Maltby, Jr. and John Dempsey , which originally debuted at Chicago 's Cadillac Palace Theatre in October 2006, with American stage actor Stephanie J. Block as Grania (Grace). ''The Pirate Queen'' is based on Morgan Llywelyn 's 1986 novel about O'Malley's life, ''Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas''. The musical moved to Broadway in March 2007, but closed in June due to lack of interest on the part of theatre-goers. James Joyce used the legend of Grace O'Malley ("her grace o'malice") and the Earl Of Howth in chapter 1 of Finnegans Wake , but added the kidnapping of another fictional son, Hilary, to match his Shem and Shaun theme. Christopher/Tristopher is turned into a Luderman (happy Lutheran) and Hilary into a Tristian (sad Christian). A musical drama written in 1989, ''Grannia'', story and lyrics by Thomas A. Power and music by Larry Allen , also tells the story of O'Malley from childhood to her meeting with Elizabeth I. It won the 1990 Moss Hart Award. The Celtic singer Cathie Ryan 's 2001 album Somewhere Along The Road featured a ballad titled Grace O'Malley. Romance author , tells O'Malley's story from birth up until a few years before her death. ''The Wild Irish'' focuses mainly on O'Malley's life, but is highly fictional--the main part of the story is O'Malley telling her life story to Elizabeth I on the night of their meeting. A children's book titled ''The Pirate Queen'' was also written about O'Malley. Irish author O.R. Melling portrays O'Malley in her novel ''The Summer King'' (part two of the ''Chronicles of Faerie'') as a ghost who haunts Achill Island , and later as her live self when heroes Laurel and Ian go back in time to win her as an ally. In 2005, theater camp Stagedoor Manor premiered a play, ''The Heart Rising'', focusing around a family of Irish immigrants to America. The show included O'Malley as a common thread throughout the many generations of the family. In June 2006 the Knock School of Irish Dancing did a dance drama based on O'Malley's story. The production was called ''Grainne O'Malley, The Pirate Queen'' and was performed by the entire Knock School at the Winspear Center in downtown Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). The Irish Sail Training vessel Asgard II has a Figurehead of Granuaile. Since 1948, the Commissioners Of Irish Lights have sailed three vessels named Granuaile. Their current sole light tender is the most modern serving the coasts of Britain and Ireland 2. The Irish vocal group Celtic Woman released their album A New Journey in 2007, featuring a song titled "Granuaile's Dance". The traditional song " Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile " is an entire song that praises her, and among many lines, says, "Welcome O' woman who was so afflicted". The NUIG ( National University Of Ireland, Galway ) Boat Club's Alumni club is named Granne Mhaol. REFERENCES
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