Customer Reviews

Granuaile: The Life and Times of Grace O'Malley 1503-1603

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the author, Anne Chambers states, Granuaile (Grace O'Malley) "broke the mould" for women of Western Europe in the 16th century. For all of the achievements and acclaim accorded to Elizabeth Tudor (Queen Elizabeth I), Granuaile's story is even more remarkable. Elizabeth might be famous for unleashing her infamous "sea dogs" (e.g., Drake and Hawkins), but Granuaile was a "sea dog" in a man's world, plying her craft on the western shores of Ireland (Galway, Connemara). Granuaile did not just order men into battle from the safety of a castle, she actually led men into battle herself. And, she did not, like Elizabeth, forgo marriage and children. She became a notable Gaelic chieftan in a time when the old Gaelic order was under assault and in decline.

This biography is scrupulously researched and well written. I found it to be most compelling because the author does not romanticize Granuaile and the troubled era she lived in. Chambers avoids the presentist trap into which many authors fall, when they search through history to find antecedents of Irish/Celtic/Gaelic nationalism. Life was more complex than the simple duality of Gaelic twilight versus English colonization. Granuaile played both sides against the middle in a deadly battle for survival which she won for her self and her descendents. The book's climatic meeting between Grauaile and Elizabeth shows that the Irish chieftaness was able to out maneuver the brutal English overlord Bingham, Gloriana, and her master of wily statecraft, Lord Burghley.

Granuaile's true story is more compelling than any fictional account of pirate queens. She was a great woman whose foresight, strength, daring, seafaring ability, and political acumen provide us all, men and women, Irish and non-Irish, with a fascinating glimpse into one woman's struggle to prevail between the English monarchy and the lords of Ireland in the 16th century.

If you want to learn about Granuaille, this is THE only accessible source that pulls together the various threads of research. So -- forgive the writer her stylistic inadequacies. Forgive the inferences and the gaps left by the record, and learn about this incredible pirate-warrior-patriot-lover-mother-wife IRISH WOMAN.

Being a long time lover of anything and everything Irish, I was finally able to visit there in the spring of 2001. How could a book lover like me go to Ireland and not visit an Irish book store to see what the Irish read? Do I need to say I could hardly carry my own bags home. That's how I met Granuaile, a real life female Irish pirate. The names that are known to most Irish are Grace O'Malley or Granny O'Malley. Getting into the business of Pirating is most easily achieved by marrying into it and that's how Grace did it. However, after the death of her husband she took his work to a whole new level, even being invited to an audience with the Queen of England who pleaded with her to give the English vessels a break. That the queen had her in her clutches and did not hang her is especially interesting. One has to wonder if the queen might have envied the freedom of the pirate life. This is not a work of fiction but a real woman with a son she loved dearly and took to the sea with her. You'll have to read and see how her life turned out and this is the best book about her that I have come across.

It was rather a disappointing read given the 4-5 star ratings given by earlier readers. There is a reasonable historical coverage of the life and times of the Irish, however, I was looking for more details regarding her exploits and tactics in battle, in particular, her strategic use of Clew Bay.