Fearsome Female Pirates: Grace O'Malley

Grace O’Malley: 1530-1603
Grace was born in County Mayo, Ireland, to a clan chieftain and a noble woman. An ambitious woman, she was determined to become wealthy and powerful. She achieved the first step toward her goal when she married a high ranking member from another clan. The union was effectively a political alliance that united the clans. Shortly after the wedding, Grace began a campaign to consolidate her power across the region. Battling rival clans, she soon defeated them and gained formidable power.

After establishing dominance over the local clans, she recruited 200 sailors from their ranks to join her pirating crew. Her ships patrolled the Atlantic Ocean northwest of Ireland overtaking merchant ships and charging them tribute. Ships that refused to pay the the money she demanded were boarded, looted and sunk. Those that paid were allowed passage, but paying the asked price was often similar to being looted -- Grace demanded so much that the ships were rarely left with any significant money. By the early 1570s, her fleet numbered 20 ships and her piracy was bankrupting English merchants sailing out of Galway.

In addition to stealing English money, Grace had a history of resisting the British occupation of Ireland. The British government grew increasingly displeased with the lack of Irish cooperation and installed Sir Richard Bingham as governor of Grace’s region in 1584. Bingham was a heavy-handed ruler who quickly became Javert to Grace's Jean val Jean. His personal mission was to take Grace from power by any means necessary.

In response to Bingham’s stifling rule, Grace wrote letters to Queen Elizabeth. Surprisingly, the monarch responded and showed interest in the case. When Bingham learned that Grace had gone over his head, he retaliated by arresting her son and threatening to execute him. Enraged at Bingham’s tyranny, Grace set sail for London and arrived at the English Court in September of 1593. Queen Elizabeth sympathized with Grace. Grace returned to Ireland, her son was released and Bingham was removed from power and recalled to England. In an unusually happy ending for a pirate, Grace died of natural causes in 1603.


More Female Pirates

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Anne Bonny

Mary Read

Sources Used

Robert C. Ritchie. "Pirate." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. World Book, Inc. 1 Mar. 2006.

Cath Reese. "Grace O'Malley." 1 Mar. 2006. http://members.tripod.com/cathreese/DefiantWomen/pirates/granuaile.html

Brian Workman. "Grace O'Malley." 2001 Sales Direct.