Customer Reviews

Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen C.1530-1603

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think this is a beautifully researched book with concise information about Grace O'Malley, her clan and Ireland during her life. The only book you need to know everything you need to know!

I think this book was amazing to help me understand Granuaile from many points of views. Withough this book, my history day projetct would have never worked.

Anne Chambers' book provides a fascinating and inspiring glimpse into the life of an extraordinary Irish woman. Ms Chambers does an excellent job painting a picture of life in Ireland during the 16th century and the role of women in Ireland through the ages. Anyone traveling to Ireland or interesting in Irish history and the role of women in Irish society will benefit from reading this biography.

Grace O'Malley (Granuaile) was a legendary Irish pirate chieftain and Gaelic chieftain who was known as such ephitet's as 'The Pirate Queen', A Most Famous Feminine Sea Captain, 'Nurse to All Rebellions' and 'A Notable Traitoress'

This book traces her life. perhaps in too little detail, and perhaps does not quite do justice to this fascinating women. This is a work of non-fiction, but I believe there was enough material at hand to give a fuller and more readable picture of this Irish Boudicca of the seas.
Mostly it is a social history of Ireland at the time, it's colonization by England and the atrocities committed by the English invaders against the Irish (as well as Irish chieftains against their own).
The role of women is examined to show just how Granuiele broke the mould, and the upheavals caused by the change from tribal Gaelic society to English law (It seems that women played a greater leadership role in some cases in the former.
We also read of her famous meeting with Queen Elizabeth, the possible fate of the Spaniards from the Armada marooned in Ireland and a chapter on her illustrious descendants.

Anne Chambers is the authority on Granuaile O'Malley, and she has written the definitive scholarly work in this biography on her.

This book was excellently written. To the person who said the anti-christian statements were not true- Let me guess? Your a christian right. Thats the problem with christians, they still deny the truth no matter what. Christianity has always been a man's religion and its the most degrading religion to women and womens rights that has ever existed. I'm glad this author had the guts to be more unique and unconventional to tell the TRUTH. Sorry Christians. I know you never appreciate that.

It's my fault really but this book is just not what I was looking for and I could not get through it.

I'm an O'Malley, so you can bet I was looking forward to this book. However, with all due respect to the author, at least in the early going, this book contains some anti-Christian, radical feminist claims that put into question the integrity of the rest of it. For instance, on page 17-18 (paperback edition) the author states: "The writings of the early Christian saints, such as Paul, John, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine, reflected the degraded position of women in Roman society. Augustine wrote of the 'horrible beastliness of women'..."

Not surprisingly, the author can not substantiate this claim and therefore does not give reference to the original source documents in her endnotes as she does with other claims. Don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that the period in which Granuaile lived was male dominated, and at times, shamefully so. However, that doesn't give an author a license to try to right any injustices by yet another injustice.

It's a shame that the apparent good intentions of this author were laid waste by her seeming desire to bash males and Christianity. A biographer should, at the very least, seek, know and uphold the truth, and then tell the good, the bad and the ugly in an even handed way. This isn't too much to ask.