Known as “the Queen of the West,” Grace was infamous in Ireland and England alike. Her enemies feared her. Her followers respected her. And for over 40 years, she raided and pillaged English settlements in protest of the creeping Imperialism in her home country.

Grace was born at sea in 1530 into a family of pirates and entrepreneurs centered on Clare Island, off the coast of County Mayo. As a young girl, legend has it that Grace hunted a brood of eagles that had been attacking the lambs in one of her father’s flocks. In her fight with the powerful birds, she was raked across the forehead with sharp talons, leaving a pattern of scars that she wore for life. 

Her father trained Grace in land and sea warfare and prepared her to inherit his fleet, castles and the O’Malley fortune. She was so successful in raiding the sea trade moving between Cork and Spain that Queen Elizabeth I of England put a 500 pound bounty on her head and sent troops to take her central castle. The English soldiers were turned back. Elizabeth never sought to engage Grace in sea battles, because she was advised that even the power of the English Navy could not stand against the pirate fleet of the Queen of the West. 

In 1583, Grace’s second husband finally persuaded her to end her war against Queen Elizabeth and become her ally. Elizabeth invited Grace to London to cement their alliance; on the way, she gave birth to a son whom she named Tibbot of the Ships. Several days later, a Turkish warship attacked her, and Grace appeared on deck with pistols in each hand to assist in repelling the corsairs.

Grace possessed powerful connections throughout the British government. Though often arrested, her connections always assured her quick release. Still pirating in her sixties, she decided to live a calmer life and retired to her castle on Clare Island, where she was eventually buried. 

Listen to the Broads You Should Know podcast episode below to hear these stories and more of the amazing adventures of Grace O’Malley!