meet MY queen

hiya lovely ssg peoples

its the day of the pirate, the day of meeting my queen, many people in the uk recognise ole lizzy as queen, I recognise the amazing Grace o Malley (Gráinne Ní Mhaille) Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the O Maille clan, as my queen.
I have the most respect admiration and total loyalty to this queen and she is one strong superb woman, let me introduce you to the queen of the pirates, my Queen, and in my opinion the most excellent pirate of them all.
Let me take you back to the time of another queen, ole lizzy the first, oh how my excellent Queen dealt with her, I cannot tell you the joy it gives me when I think of it, first my Queen refused to bow to ole lizzy the first, because she herself was queen and not a subject, she also had a concealed dagger, which was removed by ole lizzys guards, and then my Queen blew her nose~an offensive gesture , in front of all those courtiers, and threw the soiled hankerchief in the fire, those poor shocked court faces, my Queen explained that irish folk saw the soiled hankerchief as dirty and to be disposed of.
However in my admiration of my Queen I have jumped ahead, let me fill in what little I can of the roots of my Queen.

Born of the O'Malley clan, (O’Malley’s of Murrisk) which had a long and proud experience of the sea, my Queen was a good woman and wise. Most will say the clan were living around Clare Island co Mayo, her father was Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille and had a fleet of trading ships. Grace being quick and clever had been involved often and had expressed since early childhood her interest in seafaring, her father refused her joining and it is thought likely that during her first marriage when she lived at Bunowen Castle was the start of her adventures. Grace would also later marry both Donal O’Flaherty and then Richard Burke, also strong clansmen and bore four children.
The O'Malleys had built a row of castles facing the sea to protect their territory and tales are told of how they reportedly attacked ships and fortresses on the shoreline, plundered Scotland’s outlying islands, and taxed all those who fished off their coasts, which included fishermen from as far away as England. Their ships would stop and board the traders and demand either cash or a portion of the cargo in exchange for safe passage the rest of the way to Galway, by the 1560s, Grace commanded the loyalty of so many men that many of them followed her to Clare Island, where she moved her headquarters.
Fables celebrating her courage and prowess have been captured in verse and song. For instance, the day after her son Theobald (known as Theobald of the Ships) was born on a return voyage from a trading mission in 1567, a Turkish corsair is said to have attacked their ship. In the midst of the battle she is said to have roused the courage of her men by firing a blunderbuss at the Turkish assailants and crying ‘take this load from unconsecrated hands!
Another favourite legend is that during a trip to Dublin, O’Malley attempted a visit to Howth Castle – home of Lord 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 grandson and heir, Christopher St Lawrence. 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.
Lord Howth gave her a ring as pledge on the agreement. The ring remains in the possession of a descendant of O'Malley and, at Howth Castle today, this agreement is still honoured by the descendants of the Baron – with a street in Howth named ‘Grace O’Malley Road’.
My Queen is so amazing that she gave birth to her third child on the high seas during a trading expedition to the Mediterranean and only a few hours after the birth of her baby, she picked up her gun and joined a fight on deck with a group of attacking Algerian corsairs – who were all either slaughtered or retreated to their ships.

Around the time of her first husband's death came the first complaints to the English Council in Dublin that her ships were behaving like pirates.

In an apparent attempt to compromise with the English, she 'offered' 200 fighting men to serve in their army – all the while pillaging their ships as far away as Waterford. It was from this that my Queen met with ole lizzy the first

A 1793 drawing of Grace (left) meeting Queen Elizabeth in 1593 (Picture: Wikimedia)

However Grace’s circumstances were to become increasingly difficult as the English administration tightened its hold on the Connaught region. At the hand of the ruthless new governor of Connaught, Sir Richard Bingham (appointed in 1584), Grace was deprived of much of her income as her cattle were confiscated and her ships seized.

Despite her life full of adventures, Granuaile lived to an old age. She died of natural causes in 1603 at Rockfleet Castle and was 72 or 73 at the time of her passing.

She was buried in the Cistercian Abbey on Clare Island and very soon after her death, became an Irish folk hero of almost legendary status.

today is pirate sunday and I hope you enjoyed meeting my Queen