1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey listener discretion advised, Hey, 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: this is Danish War. Its just a quick reminder before 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: the episode begins. My book Immortality, a Love Story is 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: available for preorder now. I'm sure if you bought it 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: and printed out a little certificate for a holiday gift, 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: people would not be upset about that, because then they 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: get like a second gift when the book comes out 9 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: in February. It's great. It's the gift that keeps on giving. 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: There's also Noble Blood merch That link is in the 11 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: episode description and very exciting, sort of unrelated to Noble Blood. 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: But I am leading a pilgrimage to Cornwall to talk 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: about the book Rebecca and the author Daphne du Maurier, 14 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: and you can sign up now. It's from a company 15 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: called Common Ground. It's just amazing. I did one of 16 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: these to talk about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein and it 17 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: was just the best experience in the world. So if 18 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: you're free next summer and you want to hang out 19 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: and ned and write and walk around and talk in 20 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: a beautiful house in Cornwall with me, you should do that, 21 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:16,119 Speaker 1: let's dive into the episode. When you think of a 22 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: rival queen from the British Isles standing up to Queen 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: Elizabeth the first, I'm sure a certain someone comes right 24 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: to mind. Well, forget about Mary, Queen of Scott's for 25 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: the next thirty or so minutes, and travel southwest to 26 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: Ireland with me. There we will meet grannyoel or Granja Whale, 27 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: or Granny and Email or Grana Wally. But among the many, 28 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: many variations of her name, the two that have stuck 29 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: most prominently in today's popular culture our Grace O'Malley and 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: the Pirate Queen. Grace may not have been a queen 31 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: in the same literal monarchical sense as Mary and Elizabeth, 32 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: but that didn't make her any less of a powerful force. 33 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,079 Speaker 1: At one point, she led an army of two hundred 34 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: men and captained a sizeable fleet of galleys, those big 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: pirate ships with the oars on the side. That's enough 36 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: to be impressive. But Grace is perhaps most famous for 37 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: her historical meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich Palace, at 38 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: which she petitioned against the mistreatment of her family at 39 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: the hands of one of the Queen's governors in Ireland. 40 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: Hearing that today you might be thinking WHOA, let's go 41 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: girl boss hashtag shiro. I'm a little nauseous just saying 42 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: that you might be imagining that she instantly became a 43 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: celebrated folk hero. But in the fifteen hundreds, when Grace 44 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: was active, her subversion of the times Gaelic ideals of 45 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: both heroism and womanhood would mean that you would be 46 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: all but left out of recorded Irish history. Instead, much 47 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: of what we know about Grace's life and her adventures 48 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: comes from English sources, due in large part to her 49 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: contentious relationship with the Tutors during a pivotal moment in 50 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: English Irish history. Still, Grace was cemented in Irish history 51 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: through folklore traditions, and in more recent years, the Irish 52 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: canon has adopted Grace as an iconic, even nationalist figure. 53 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: Even on an international scale, Grace is held up today 54 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: as an icon of, perhaps anachronistic but still inspiring feminism. 55 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: The story of Grace O'Malley has all the elements that 56 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: can make one an icon, resilience, charisma, defiance of social stigma, 57 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: and at the end of the day, being a really 58 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: cool lady pirate, i'm danis Schwartz and this is noble blood. 59 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: Grace's connection with the sea began with her birth as 60 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: a member of the O'Malley clan, and notably their sole air. 61 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: She was expected to live by their motto terameric potents, 62 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: or powerful by land and sea. The O'Malley's were unique 63 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: among the major Irish clans for making much of their 64 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: money from the sea, which might seem surprising considering Ireland 65 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: is surrounded by water. When the King would go to 66 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: see he would use O'Malley fleets and exchange, documented in 67 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: Irish records, Each year, the O'Malley's would pay taxes of quote, 68 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: one hundred milk cows, one hundred hogs, and one hundred 69 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,359 Speaker 1: casks of beer and quote in exchange for the King's 70 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: annual gift of quote five shi, five horses, five swords 71 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: and five corselets and quote. The sea provided the O'Malley's 72 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,799 Speaker 1: with four major sources of income, fishing, trading, mercenary work, 73 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: and of course pirt ing, all of which Grace would 74 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: involve herself in. Fishing is self explanatory. The coast off 75 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 1: the O'Malley territory was known as a particularly great spot, 76 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: but trading has a more complex history. Recent research confirms 77 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: that from the Middle Ages on sea trade routes were 78 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: established between Ireland and England, France and Spain. Trading abroad 79 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: was actually more profitable for the O'Malley's than trading in 80 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: their own country, thanks to taxas in major cities like 81 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: Galway that were placed on outsiders or non city folk. 82 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: For Grace, this meant that unlike her peers, she grew 83 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: up in a home furnished with four in luxury goods 84 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: and furniture. Mercenary work also deserves some contexts. Hired mercenaries 85 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: played a big role in the history of Gaelic warfare, 86 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: and according to documentation in the Irish Annals, O'Malley ships 87 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: and crews were near constantly being hired by warring chieftains. 88 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: Grace and her sons would take up that arm of 89 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: the family business. And then, of course there's the history 90 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: of pirate ng Every civilization in history has had them, 91 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: and in Irish history, pirate and O'Malley go hand in hand. 92 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: A quote from the Ancient Annals Rates quote owen o 93 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,280 Speaker 1: Wallya went with the crew of three ships against chile 94 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: Bega or Killie Begs in County Donegal. Quote in the 95 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: night they raid and burned the town and take many 96 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: prisoners end quote. Fun fact the galley, the pirate ship, 97 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: the O'Malley's and most face. Miss Le Grace sailed is 98 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: thought to derive its design from the long skips or 99 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: longships of the Vikings, who established their footholds in Ireland 100 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: in part due to pirrat ng. This was the life 101 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: Grace was born into, but at the time of her 102 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: birth around fifteen thirty, Ireland was on the cusp of 103 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: a major change. The country hadn't seen much change since 104 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: the Anglo Norman invasion of the twelfth century. Ireland had 105 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: a total population of around seven hundred thousand people, living 106 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: in a land still densely occupied by thriving forests and woodlands, 107 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: pastoral fields and bogs and marsha's, with very little in 108 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: the way of bridges and roads to traverse the ecosystem. 109 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: This landscape protected the Irish from English interference for a 110 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: long time, but that would change in the sixteenth century, 111 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: especially once Ireland began to become properly mapped. When Grace 112 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: was born, the current English king Henry the Eighth already 113 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,679 Speaker 1: held the title of Lord of Ireland, and the Crown 114 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: had imposed a policy referred to as quote surrender and 115 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: re grant, in which they hoped to obtain Ireland through 116 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: willing participation instead of military action. But with their claws 117 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: in the land, the tutors enter. Their conquest of Grace's 118 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: homeland will come more into play during her adolescence and 119 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: eventually adulthood. Her father was Owen or black Oak O'Malley, 120 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: chief of his name and ruler of uwal Oughta. Notably, 121 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: he was one of the few Gaelic chieftains of the 122 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: time who refused to submit to the English crown. Grace's mother, Margaret, 123 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: was also in O'Malley, a cousin of her husband. Like 124 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: her husband, she was a property owner in Ule. She 125 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: inherited lands from her mother, which she hoped would pass 126 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: down to her daughter. Irish law allowed for women to 127 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,079 Speaker 1: possess land, which directly opposed English law which stated all 128 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: property went to husband's fathers and sons. Earlier, I mentioned 129 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: Grace was the sole heir of the O'Malley's, but that 130 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: information comes with a caveat. Grace had an illegitimate brother, Donald, 131 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: who lived in O'Malley Castle, but did not inherit the 132 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: lands or the title. Everything went to Grace. Still Donald 133 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: existed and he would play an important role in her life. 134 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: Grace's childhood is pretty much undocumented, not uncommon for Gaelic 135 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: children of the age. I also noted earlier that while 136 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: Grace wasn't formally documented in Irish history, she remained in 137 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: the culture through folklore traditions. The story behind her name 138 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: is said to derive from an incident as a child 139 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: in which she wanted to join her father on an expedition, 140 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: but she was told she couldn't go because her long 141 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: hair would catch in the ship's ropes. In defiance, she 142 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: chopped off her hair so he wouldn't have an excuse 143 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 1: to exclude her, earning her the nickname Granuel or Grace 144 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: with the chopped hair, the former being the name she's 145 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: best known by an Irish culture. There are some more 146 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: academic etymological explanations for the name, but I think that 147 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: one's a lot more fun folklore aside. It's likely Grace 148 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: had her sight set on seafaring from an early age, 149 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:37,199 Speaker 1: but as a woman, she had a more important obligation 150 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: to the O'Malley clan. Marriage. Grace's first marriage happened when 151 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: she was only sixteen, in fifteen forty six. Her husband 152 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: was Donald O Flattery, son of the chieftain of the 153 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: senior ruling branch of the oh Flattery clan, a titled 154 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: Donald himself would gain by the time of the marriage, 155 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: not Donald our half brother, a different Donald. The O'Malley 156 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: and o'flarity clans were neighbors and allies in war, so 157 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:11,439 Speaker 1: political marriages between them made perfect sense. We don't have 158 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: any specifics of what her married life was like, but 159 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: based on all we know of Grace, we can imagine 160 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: she wasn't content with the role of dutiful housewife, but 161 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: her husband seemed like the man who wouldn't want a 162 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: woman threatening his power. Still, the couple had three children, 163 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: two boys and a girl, Margaret, after Grace's mother. When 164 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: it comes to Grace's husband, we know two main things 165 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: about Donald. He was eager to war with neighboring plans, 166 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: and he was bad at his job when he was 167 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: picking fights with the Joyce clan over castle ownership. Grace 168 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: had plans at home over a century before Catherine the 169 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: Great Wood, Grace O'Malley usurped her husband's position as chieftain, 170 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: albeit probably less dramatically than Catherine the Great did it. 171 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: We don't have any more details as to the how 172 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: and why of this power transfer, but we know most 173 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: of the klansmen supported her, even electing to leave their 174 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: home and live under her authority in mail. It's after 175 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: she's chieftain that we finally get the first stories of 176 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: Grace's pirate escapades. Which she and her crew were essentially 177 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: doing was disrupting cargo carrying ships with their galleys, scamming 178 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: Galoway merchants that made their way into her territory into 179 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: paying a tax for safe passage home fair payback for 180 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: the taxes Galway merchants placed on those in coastal territories 181 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,080 Speaker 1: wanting to trade. As described by Anne Chambers in her 182 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: Rich O'Malley biography quote laden with the agreed or extracted spoil, 183 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: Granuel and her men disappeared into one or other of 184 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: the numerous uncharted days along the identified coastline. Frustrated merchants 185 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 1: took their complaints to the English Council in Dublin, complaints 186 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 1: that were recorded as such quote the continuing roads used 187 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: by the O'Malleys and aflaritys with their galleys along our coasts, 188 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: where there have been taken sundry ships bound for this 189 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: poor town, which they have not only rifled to the 190 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: utter overthrow of the owners and merchants, but also have 191 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: most wickedly murdered divers of young men, to the great 192 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 1: terror of such as would willingly traffic end quote. Grace 193 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,959 Speaker 1: was already proving herself to be a strong, competent leader, 194 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: the kind of person a crew would get behind. In 195 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty four, Ireland found itself embroiled in a new 196 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: conflict that would have a large impact on Grace's life. 197 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,239 Speaker 1: A minor chieftain of the Auflarity sought to expand his territory, 198 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 1: and in his campaign he attacked two earls to the crown. 199 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth the first, at this point, could not ignore. 200 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: To resolve the fighting, The Crown decided that they would 201 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: grant A Flaherty Kinsman overlordship over the territory and elected 202 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 1: Donal of Flarherty, Grace's husband, as deputy, when he thought 203 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: he should have had the primary position. The arrangement temporarily 204 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: satisfied the warring chieftain, but created a major new problem. 205 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: The territory already had a legitimate chieftain before England came in, 206 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: and just decided who would be in charge. While Elizabeth's father, 207 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: Henry may have stuck to a policy of surrender and 208 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: re grant, Queen Elizabeth preferred divide and conquer, in which 209 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: English laws sought to break up the existing Gaelic order. 210 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: New wars inevitably broke out among clans, and in one skirmish, 211 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: Grace's husband, Donald was mortally wounded. We're getting into the 212 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: blurrier lines of folklore again, but tradition says that the 213 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: Joyce is the foremost of Donald's many enemies took the 214 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: opportunity to take his castle, which they nicknamed Cox Castle 215 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: after their opinion of its leader. What they didn't account 216 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: for was his far more competent wife's defenses, who apparently 217 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: showed such strength that they decided to rename the castle 218 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: yet again, Hen's Castle. Unfortunately for Grace, Gaelic law didn't 219 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: have as high an opinion of her, or of women 220 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: in general. She couldn't legally inherit the title of chieftain, 221 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: so after her husband died, Donald's cousin was officially given 222 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: the position that she had been in for years. What's more, 223 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: she couldn't inherit his lands, and so she returned to 224 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: her birthplace of Oul, bringing along her children any of 225 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: her a flatterymen who wished to continue as part of 226 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: her crew, three galleys and a collection of aller boats. 227 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: This would be the place where the legend of the 228 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: Pirate Queen would truly be born. Back in Uel, Grace 229 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: settled on Claire Island as a base. It's stronghold, a 230 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: tower castle perfect for seafarers, is today known as Growl Castle. 231 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: We don't have documentation as to how she spent her 232 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: time here, but from a collection of external sources, we 233 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: know that she continued and expanded the practices she had 234 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: begun with the a Flits in her own territory. She 235 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: also built alliances with a number of clans, the O'Malley's, 236 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: the Burkes, the o Flattery's, the McCormack's, the McNally's, the Conroys, 237 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: and the Cladonnels. It's testament to her leadership that this 238 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: many men agreed to follow a woman in a time 239 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: and place when she couldn't officially become a chieftain. To 240 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: get a picture of the power that she garnered in 241 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: the years after turning back to Ull, take a quote 242 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: from Sir Henry Sydney, Lord Deputy of Ireland in fifteen 243 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: seventy seven, thirteen years after Grace's husband died. Quote, there 244 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: came to me a most famous feminine sea captain named 245 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: Granny Imally, with three galleys and two hundred fighting men, 246 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 1: either in Scotland or in Ireland. She brought with her 247 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: her husband, for she was well by sea and by land, 248 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: well more than Mrs Mate with him. This was a 249 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland. End quote. 250 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: You might be thinking, husband, I thought her husband was dead. 251 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: You are correct. Sydney is actually referring to surprise husband 252 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: number two, to whom Grace married in fifteen sixty seven. 253 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: This husband was let me take a deep breath here, 254 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,479 Speaker 1: Richard on ironren Burke, chieftain of the step of Ulrich 255 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: of Burswool and Cara. He was a wealthy, well connected, 256 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 1: and most importantly man who was fine with Grace continuing 257 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: business as usual during their marriage. Unlike Donald, it seems 258 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: Richard was less bothered by having a powerful wife, evidenced 259 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: by Sydney's declaration that she was more than missus mate 260 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: with him and his usually being referred to as quote 261 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:27,239 Speaker 1: Grace O'Malley's husband in English sources. Still, there are a 262 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: number of legends of spats during their marriage, including one 263 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: in which Grace locks Richard out of his own castle 264 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: and shouts from the top of the tower, declaring divorce. 265 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: I wonder if this legend served to make Grace seem 266 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: powerful or hysterical, but either way, in reality, the couple 267 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: never divorced. Legend also tells that their only son, Theobald, 268 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: whom the couple had the same year they married, was 269 00:18:55,240 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: born at sea. The next day, Algerian pirates attacked the ship, 270 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: and Grace rose from bed to fight, apparently declaring quote 271 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: take this from an unconsecrated hands end quote, referring to 272 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: the old Catholic custom that women who had recently given 273 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:18,440 Speaker 1: birth could not participate in ceremonies. Legends also make up 274 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: most of Grace's pirrating stories from this time. She saved 275 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 1: the wealthy son of a merchant from the wreckage of 276 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,679 Speaker 1: a ship, and he became her lover when he was 277 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: killed by the McMahons of Juna Castle. She seized it 278 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: out of vengeance. Apparently she kidnapped the grandson of an 279 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: earl after he was inhospitable to her. What we know 280 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,760 Speaker 1: as truth is that her leadership skills, along with the 281 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: skills of her second husband, would be put to the 282 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: test in the fifteen seventies. That quote from Henry Sidney 283 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: about his meeting with Grace was not just a chat 284 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,400 Speaker 1: over coffee. He and his son, the poet and soldier, 285 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,400 Speaker 1: Sir Philip Sidney were making the round two active get 286 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 1: Irish lords to submit their lands to them, and Grace 287 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: and her husband Richard were facing increasing pressure to do 288 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: the same. The extended version of that quote from Sydney 289 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,399 Speaker 1: actually reads quote there came to me also a most 290 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 1: famous feminine sea captain named Granny Mallie, and offered her 291 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 1: services unto me wheresoever I would command her with three 292 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: galleys and two hundred fighting men end quote. Grace knew 293 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 1: that if power had to be exchanged, she had something 294 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: to bargain with. Offering an ally ship instead of a 295 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,480 Speaker 1: surrender of her lands was a shrewd move, one that 296 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: Sydney accepted. He asked Grace if she could show him 297 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: the seaside from one of her galleys, which she accepted 298 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: if he paid for the trip. A few weeks after 299 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: her encounter with Sydney, Grace set out on a routine 300 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: plundering mission to Munster, the lands of the Earl of Desmond, 301 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: but for the first time in her life, her mission 302 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: failed and she and three crew members were captured by 303 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: the Earl's people. Desmond was desperate for political power, and 304 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,199 Speaker 1: he thought imprisoning the famous Irish pirate would appeal to 305 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth. It would be a long confinement. In fifteen 306 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: seventy eight, the English President of Munster would write correspondence 307 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: to Sydney describing the Earl's prisoner as quote a woman 308 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: that hath imprudently passed the part of womanhood and been 309 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: a great spoiler and chief commander and director of thieves 310 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: and murderers at sea to spoil this providence end quote. 311 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: As we often see with condemnations of women who transgress, 312 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: there are two crimes. Grace is supposedly guilty of pirating 313 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: and not fulfilling her designated role as a woman. A 314 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: year and a half after her initial confinement. She was 315 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: taken in chains to Dublin Castle, where she was imprisoned 316 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: again and her three companions were executed. We don't know 317 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,919 Speaker 1: why Grace was released in early fifteen seventy nine, but 318 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 1: she was and she resumed her life at Carrigloy Castle. 319 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:20,960 Speaker 1: By March. Thinking her vulnerable, the Galway merchants, anxious about 320 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: the inevitable return of her less than legal taxes, attacked 321 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: her castle, but they were swiftly defeated. The next short 322 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: period of Grace's life was largely political, though she and 323 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: her husband's combined forces were now about two thousand men, 324 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: Richard gained the position of the mac william one of 325 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: the most powerful and prestigious chieftaincies, as the leader of 326 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: the Burks or Mayo Burk's. This new level of power 327 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,959 Speaker 1: put them in closer proximity with the English, and Richard 328 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: ended up signing a surrender and re grant agreement, but 329 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 1: one that uniquely let him retain autonomous control of his 330 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: lands in County Mayo. Still there are stories of Grace 331 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: and Richard refusing English taxes, threatening messengers never to return. 332 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: Grace and Richard were well matched, but in Fife, Richard 333 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: died of natural causes at fifty three. Grace was yet 334 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 1: again a widow. This time, however, she refused to lose 335 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: what she had gained during her marriage, and she gathered 336 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: her followers to reside in his castle. This apparently worked 337 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: out well for her, as she retained Richard's assets and 338 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: her own even after his death. Life wasn't slowing down, though, 339 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: and Grace was soon embroiled in a new rebellion. In 340 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:50,439 Speaker 1: fifteen eighty four, an Englishman named Sir Richard Bingham was 341 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:56,200 Speaker 1: appointed provincial president of connect which included Grace's Mayo. Bingham 342 00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: preferred a violent approach when it came to taking Ireland, 343 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: and he particularly singled out Grace as a potential threat. 344 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,439 Speaker 1: He kidnapped her son, Theobald and held him hostage for 345 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: a year. After a series of other violent transgressions, the 346 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: Burks rose up against Bingham. In the fighting, Bingham ordered 347 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: his brother to seize the land of Grace's son, Owen. 348 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: Grace later testified that Owen had offered hospitality, but he 349 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: ended up quote cruelly murdered, having twelve deadly wounds end quote. 350 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 1: As you can imagine, Grace was infuriated and eagerly joined 351 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,360 Speaker 1: the rebellion against Bingham. In one of the most shocking 352 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: stories from the time, Grace learned that her second son, 353 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,640 Speaker 1: still from her first marriage, had allied out of personal 354 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: gain with the man who had killed his brother. She 355 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:59,200 Speaker 1: did not hesitate to attack. A letter from Bingham describes 356 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: the conflict, which reads his referring to her second son 357 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 1: AfOR said mother. Granny, being out of charity with her 358 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: son for serving her mate, manned out her navy of 359 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: galleys and landed in balan Heansee, where he dwelleth, burned 360 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,640 Speaker 1: his town and spoiled his people of their cattle and goods, 361 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: and murdered three or four of his men which offered 362 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: to make resistance. Remember, her oldest son had been murdered 363 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,880 Speaker 1: and her youngest kidnapped. Her middle son was a traitor, 364 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: and so she didn't hesitate to turn against him. By 365 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: the late fifteen eighties, Elizabeth the First replaced Bingham with 366 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: a man who she ordered to make peace with the Burkes. Together, 367 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: she and the new Lord Deputy presented a list of 368 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: crimes against Bingham. He was tried and acquitted in fifteen ninety, 369 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: but that wasn't the end. Of Bingham's involvement in Grace's story, 370 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: nor is it the end of Elizabeth's. Bingham wanted vengeance, 371 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: and he blamed his downfall on Grace. On his return 372 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: to Ireland, now demoted as a mere governor, he devastated 373 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: Grace's lands while she was at sea, and when her 374 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: son Theobald tried to stage another uprising against him, he 375 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: impounded Grace's fleet and further plundered her territory, leaving her 376 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: with nothing. Theobald was forced to surrender and was once 377 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: again captured and imprisoned by Bingham. With Grace's fleet destroyed 378 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:35,159 Speaker 1: and her resources massively depleted, she decided her best course 379 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,399 Speaker 1: of action in this case would be diplomacy. In a 380 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: letter dated Fife, she goes for a strategic emotional appeal. 381 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 1: She argues that everything she has done has been in 382 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: self defense, as Queen Elizabeth would do against her own enemies. 383 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: Knowing that Queen Elizabeth the First was a similar age 384 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: to her sixty three, Grace asked quote in tender consideration 385 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 1: whereof and in regard of her great age, to grant 386 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,440 Speaker 1: her some reasonable maintenance for the little time she hath 387 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 1: to live. Grace also appealed for sympathy as a widow 388 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,440 Speaker 1: who was never granted her proper compensation from the government. 389 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: The real meat of the letter is, of course, the exchange. 390 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: She proposes the release of her son in exchange for 391 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: her Lands, along with the pledge of her services seafaring. 392 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 1: She would, in other words, become a pirate on Elizabeth's behalf. 393 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: It might seem like Grace was submitting to English rule, 394 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,959 Speaker 1: but as she did with Sir Sidney years earlier, she 395 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: was playing a complex political game. The English takeover of 396 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: Ireland seemed imminent to Grace, but she could use her 397 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: Lands as a bargaining chip in the meantime to win 398 00:27:56,119 --> 00:28:00,440 Speaker 1: back something she cared about more her son. It's also 399 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: not forget how bold it was for her to appeal 400 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 1: directly to the Queen of England. While Grace was a 401 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: noble daughter in Ireland and a powerful political force, you 402 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: couldn't exactly call her a peer in terms of on 403 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: paper status. While the petition was en route to London, 404 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,120 Speaker 1: things went from bad to worse. Theobald was named as 405 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: a conspirator against England and was to be tried for treason. 406 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: At the same time, Grace's half brother Donald, remember him, 407 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 1: was arrested by Bingham. Legend says that at this point 408 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: Grace took matters into her own hands and set sail 409 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: for London. Without an official response, we know that she 410 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: was at court from June to September of that year, 411 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: and during that time the Earl of Ormond, a cousin 412 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: and favorite of Queen Elizabeth the First, introduced Grace to 413 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: the Chief adviser to the Queen, Lord Burgley. Burgley sent 414 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: O'Malley eighteen articles of interrogatory to investigate her life, basically 415 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: a Q and a intake form, which Grace answered and returned. 416 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: Despite Bingham's protests, Elizabeth agreed to sit down with Grace 417 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: and hear her petition. The two would officially meet over 418 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: the summer in Greenwich Palace. As you can imagine, there 419 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: are a number of bits of folklore that are associated 420 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: with this meeting. Some legends tell that Grace carried a 421 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: concealed dagger under her finery. Some believe she dressed in 422 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:38,560 Speaker 1: traditional Irish costume instead, or walked barefoot. Other stories are 423 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 1: that you refused to bow before the Queen. My personal 424 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 1: favorite is an anecdote in which Grace was offered a 425 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: noble woman's lace handkerchief. After using it, she threw it 426 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: into the fireplace, to the horror of the court. Elizabeth 427 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: explained that the handkerchief was meant to be placed back 428 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: into her pocket, but Grace explained that in Ireland handkerchiefs 429 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: are not reused on the basis of cleanliness. While we 430 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 1: don't know what exactly happened in that meeting room, Elizabeth's 431 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: own letter detailing her reactions paints the clearest picture. The 432 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: Queen speaks of Grace with respect, and when it comes 433 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: to her transgression, Elizabeth writes that simply quote she hath 434 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: in times lived out of order and quote a simple 435 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 1: way to put it. Elizabeth felt compassion as Grace described 436 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,239 Speaker 1: the mistreatment of her family. In fact, the only thing 437 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth was unsettled by was the way Grace spoke 438 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,880 Speaker 1: without remorse of the way she attacked her traitorous middle son. 439 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: Elizabeth even heard the pirate queen out as she argued 440 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: that she wanted to be reinstated to her work in 441 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: as Elizabeth put it, quote maintenance by land and see 442 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: quite the euphemism for piracy. Elizabeth saw Grace as a 443 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: valuable asset and additionally agree on the basis that it 444 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 1: quote might yield to her some maintenance for her living 445 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,800 Speaker 1: the rest of her old years end quote. Grace had 446 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: played her cards quite well. She may have been considered 447 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: quite old at the time, but with Elizabeth's permission, she 448 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,840 Speaker 1: was ready to head back to see. The fruit of 449 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: Grace's efforts was Elizabeth ordering an investigation into Richard Bingham 450 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: and an explanation for his extreme actions. Towards the end 451 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 1: of September, the Queen ordered the release of theobold and 452 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:40,040 Speaker 1: Donald for Grace herself. With regards to what Elizabeth described 453 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: as quote having not, by the customs of the Irish 454 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: any title to any livelihood or position or portion of 455 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: her two husband's land, now being a widow end quote, 456 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: the Queen ordered for portions of the taxes the Crown 457 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: would collect from her son's lands to be devoted to 458 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 1: Grace instead. Satisfied, Grace returned home, where Bingham initially refused 459 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: to act in accordance to the Queen's orders. Grace threatened 460 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: him that she would call upon the Queen once again, 461 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 1: and ultimately he complied. Bingham, of course, wasn't done, though, 462 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:20,800 Speaker 1: and once again sought to deplete Grace's resources. She sailed 463 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: back to London one more time in fifteen ninety five, 464 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: where her claims were once again investigated. Bingham, fearing more 465 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,320 Speaker 1: charges in Ireland, fled back to England, where he was arrested. 466 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: The closest I think we've ever come to a happy 467 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: ending in one of these episodes. The last record we 468 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,239 Speaker 1: have of Grace's pirrating comes in sixteen o one, when 469 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 1: the captain of an English warship came into contact with 470 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: one of her galleys, and he named her as the 471 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 1: ship's owner. This means that upon Grace's death in sixteen 472 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,800 Speaker 1: o three, she might have been still sailing up until 473 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:11,320 Speaker 1: the very end. That's the story of Grace O'Malley. But 474 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,479 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a 475 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: little bit more about her legends. Grace O'Malley was a 476 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: fascinating figure and remains an icon to this day. Though 477 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: she was long dismissed by official Irish sources, she's a 478 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: local legend and her meeting with Elizabeth is held up 479 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: as a symbol of Irish strength in a desperate time 480 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: for the country. Her cultural preservation is an odd mixture. 481 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 1: English sources documented her as a nuisance, Irish folklore mystifies 482 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: her as an enigma, and feminist texts wouldn't even come 483 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,280 Speaker 1: into conversation with her until long after Grace was gone. 484 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 1: As Anne Chambers points out in her book Grace O'Malley, 485 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:22,799 Speaker 1: The Biography of Ireland's Pirate Queen. Before the influence of 486 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:27,320 Speaker 1: the Church, Ireland was once a matriarchal culture in which 487 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: most of the deities were women. The name of Ireland 488 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:35,319 Speaker 1: itself is derived from the mother goddess Ireu or Eric, 489 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,919 Speaker 1: who was believed to be one of the three legendary 490 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:43,799 Speaker 1: goddesses who ruled the country. Ireland's official sources may have 491 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:49,000 Speaker 1: long dismissed that, but folklore never did. As Chambers argues 492 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,920 Speaker 1: quote by the time of Granue in the sixteenth century, 493 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: an analogy for an independent woman ruler could be found 494 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: only in myth and legend. In turn, this caused the 495 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: life of Granuel herself to be relegated to myth rather 496 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: than acknowledged that a woman could you, sir, What had 497 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 1: by then come to be accepted as the exclusive role 498 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:33,879 Speaker 1: of men. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart 499 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood 500 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:41,920 Speaker 1: is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing and researching 501 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:46,320 Speaker 1: done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, Courtney Sunder, 502 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 1: and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kayali, 503 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:55,680 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 504 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from I 505 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 506 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:11,239 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H