The Pirate Queen

At 49, after over a year of imprisonment, Grace is shackled in a wagon and escorted to Dublin Castle by the Governor of Munster and Thomas “Black Tom” Butler. She’s locked away in a cell in the Bermingham Tower. By what she estimates is late March, she is taken from her cell, ordered to bathe and change into a clean dress, and brought before the English Lord Deputy, FitzWilliam.

FitzWilliam explains that he and other powerful figures on the Queen’s Privy Council have taken a keen interest in her. He offers Grace an immediate release from prison in exchange for an agreement to provide the English Crown with intelligence on the movements of Spanish naval ships, which she frequently encounters on her voyages. Desperate for her freedom, Grace signs a written agreement, officially becoming a spy for England. As their meeting concludes, FitzWilliam remarks that there is only one pirate queen and that she sits on the throne of England.

Grace, now 63, arrives at Greenwich Palace for a summoned audience with Queen Elizabeth I. In the guard chamber, the guards confiscate the small knife she has carried for decades. Inside the presence chamber, she finds herself before the Queen, the Queen’s advisor Lord Burghley, and Sir Richard Bingham.

Displaying immense confidence, Grace refuses to bow to the monarch, stating that since her own people consider her a queen, it would be unfitting. The two women converse in Latin, a language most of the court doesn’t understand, discussing Grace’s past intelligence work for the late spymaster Walsingham. Grace formally petitions for the release of her brother and son, who are imprisoned by Bingham; for the return of her lands and castles; for the right to continue her maritime activities without restriction; and for Bingham’s removal as governor. Bingham interrupts, vehemently accusing Grace and her family of treason and rebellion.

After hearing both sides, Queen Elizabeth delivers her judgment. She declares that Grace’s confiscated lands legally belong to her sons and orders them returned, with a portion of the revenue designated for Grace’s maintenance. She then commands Bingham to release his prisoners immediately, warning that his governorship is now under review. As Grace leaves, she retrieves her knife from the guards and confronts Bingham, pressing the blade to his throat and threatening to mutilate him if she ever sees him again.

Newly married, 16-year-old Grace finds herself alone and isolated in her new home, Bunowen Castle, as her husband, Donal O’Flaherty, immediately rides off to battle. The castle steward informs her that she’s forbidden to leave the grounds unless escorted by guards. Enraged by this attempt to control her, Grace defies the order, threatening the steward with her knife and drawing blood until he steps aside.

The confrontation is secretly witnessed by three men. Her appointed guard, a man named Finn, is so impressed by her ferocity and spirit that he falls in love with her. His twin brother, Murray, senses this shift and feels a pang of loss. A young servant boy named Gutty, seeing Grace crying on the beach later, feels a surge of sympathy and arranges for the cook to send a tray of food to her chambers. Alone again, Grace eats the meal and quietly despairs at the constrained life she has been forced into.

At Rockfleet Castle, 53-year-old Grace cares for her second husband, Richard Bourke, who is slowly dying from a lung illness. Sensing that his end is near, Richard summons Finn, Grace’s most loyal guard, and makes him promise to protect Grace and their young son, Tibbot, after he’s gone.

Because Grace had divorced Richard after their first year of marriage under Brehon law, she meets with a Brehon named Bald Alec. He helps her formally document her legal claim to the vast wealth that she and Richard have accumulated together, including numerous castles, a fleet of 25 ships, 1,000 head of cattle and as many horses, and an army of 200 men. Bald Alec warns her that she will need this power, as the ruthless Richard Bingham has been appointed the new Governor of Connaught.

Days later, Richard dies in Grace’s arms. His final words to her, whispered in Latin, are his old promise: “Ego te expectabo” (480).

At 73, Grace lies dying in Rockfleet Castle. She’s surrounded by her family and her oldest, most loyal men. Her estranged son, Merrick, never comes to her side. Finn brings news that Queen Elizabeth died in March, three months prior. Before her strength fails, Grace gives her mother’s fede ring to her daughter, Margaret, and her beloved compass and aquamarine ring to Tibbot.

Feeling that her end is near, she asks her men to help her outside to see the water one last time. As dusk settles, she feels the presence of the sea god, Manannán, and knows he has come for her. In a final act of surrender, Grace draws the small knife from her boot; cuts off her long, silver braid; and throws it into the water.

Lawhon explains that the historical record of Grace O’Malley is fragmented and biased. The only contemporary written accounts are from English state papers, which portray her as a villain, while she is conspicuously absent from the official Irish history of the era, the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, by the Four Masters. The more heroic and personal stories about her life derive from centuries of Irish folklore. Lawhon notes that historical events like Donal O’Flaherty killing Walter Bourke, Grace pouring molten lead on her enemies and kidnapping the heir of Howth Castle, her imprisonments, her battle while giving birth, and her meeting with Queen Elizabeth are factual. She also explains her creative choices, such as theorizing that Grace spied for England to explain her mysterious releases from prison and structuring the novel around the “Maiden, Mother, Matriarch” theme inspired by a trinity knot (495).