Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate Queen

Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous women in history. Her meteoric rise from minor noble to Queen of England, and even swifter downfall to the block in the tower of London is the stuff of legend and the focus of too many novels and dramas to count. But there are two important c ...  Show more

What’s more British than the British royal family? More Spanish than the Spanish Monarchs? More Norse than the King of Norway? Well, a lot of things actually. In fact, nearly all of the 10 remaining hereditary monarchs of Europe have more German DNA than they do local. For centur ...  Show more

Grace O'Malley or Granuaile is an iconic name in Irish history. Born in 1530, she emerged as a powerful leader in the West of Ireland in ruthless and violent era as the Tudor reconquest of the Island was in full swing. Grace is often called a pirate queen, a chieftain or even ...

Gráinne O'Malley (often known as Grace O'Malley) has gone down in history as The Pirate Queen. Born into the powerful, seafaring O'Malley clan in western Ireland, she took to the pirate's life at a young age. Basically, everything a woman wasn't supposed to do at the time, Gráinn ...  Show more

Grace O'Malley, or Gráinne Mhaol, has become an Irish folk hero, a woman who led a crew of men and galley ships and stood up to the English occupiers in Ireland. But it's her legendary meeting with Queen Elizabeth I—a moment of diplomacy—in England that has fascinated historia ...

In this episode, we dive into the legend and legacy of Ireland’s Pirate Queen: from her wild childhood as “Grace the Bald” to the rumors she gave birth on a ship and went back to battle within the hour. We chart her rise through maritime conquests, clan warfare, and a jaw-droppin ...  Show more