Granuaile ~ Pirate Queen of Connaught
Vilified by her English adversaries as ‘a woman who hath imprudently passed the part of womanhood’, Grace O’Malley was ignored by contemporary chroniclers in Ireland, yet her memory survived in native folklore. Nationalists later lionised her as Gráinne Mhaol, a warrior who would come over the sea with Irish soldiers to rout the English. She finally became an icon of international feminism, both as an example of a strong and independent woman and as a victim of misogynistic laws. Nevertheless, this subject of verse, music, romantic novels, documentaries and an interpretive centre remains shrouded in mystery. Gráinne Ní Máille’s mythical status is a double-edged sword that, while ensuring that her name survived, has obscured the reality of the woman behind the legend. She was an extraordinary woman who lived, loved, fought and survived during a pivotal period of Irish history that saw the collapse of the Gaelic order and the ruination of Ireland’s ruling élite.
Link to Anne Chambers website
In Granuaile - the original best-selling biography of this historic icon, from rare and exclusive contemporary manuscript material Anne Chambers draws Ireland’s great pirate queen in from the vagueness of myth and legend and presents the historical reality of one of the world’s most extraordinary female leaders.
Link to YouTube Videos
Learn more about the formidable warrior queen by watching 'Warrior Women: Grace O' Malley, Pirate Queen' presented by Lucy Lawless (Air date: 2003 on Discovery Channel).
Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8z48fxGJSE
Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lnQAfLlQd8
Part Three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUdKqkuazSM
Part Four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n72mgaqsAVk
Part Five: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrrbPdHQBaA
Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lnQAfLlQd8
Part Three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUdKqkuazSM
Part Four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n72mgaqsAVk
Part Five: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrrbPdHQBaA