Glossary
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Belclare – a small town in northwest Ireland, about 45 miles south of Clew Bay and about 18
miles north of Galway.
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Brehon Laws – Early Irish law. Brehon laws included things like
a. The woman doesn’t have to change her name when she marries
b. She owns her own property
c. Her dowry is refundable upon divorce
d. Divorce is legal, and there were trial marriages.
e. Note: Grace O’Malley’s second marriage to Richard an Iarainn began as a trial marriage
for one year, but lasted for almost 20. She was “well more than Mrs. Mate with him.”
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Christening of a ship – The naming and “baptism” of a ship. Ceremonies surrounding the
launching of ships have existed since ancient times, usually requesting aid and blessing from the
divine. Christian ceremonies included pouring out wine from elaborate goblets, even throwing
the goblet overboard.
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Clan – A social group made up of several families claiming decsent from a common ancestor,
bearing the same family name, and following the same chieftain. In the sixteenth century, clans
were the most powerful governing bodies, but the divided leadership made it difficult to
organize against the English forces. Ireland was divided into as many as “… sixty counties …
where reigneth sixty chief captains … that liveth only by the sword and obeyeth to no other
temporal person but only to himself that is strong. And every of the said captains maketh war
and peace for himself and holdeth by the sword and hath imperial jurisdiction within his room
and obeyeth to no other person, English or Irish, except only to such persons as may subdue him
by the sword.” The lack of a centralized ruling government is ultimately what made Ireland
unable to fight off the English.
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Clew Bay – a bay in the northwest of Ireland, and the home base for the O’Malley clan. “Clews”
are the lower corners of a sail.
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’Dic mihi quare huc veneris.’ ‘De meo populo parlarvi veni’ – The exchange in Latin between
Elizabeth and Grace. Elizabeth, who could speak several languages fluently, says “Tell me why
you come,” and Grace responds, “I come to speak for my people.”
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Dubhdara – Grace’s father’s name which means Black Oak. The O’Malley emblem is a boar.
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East India Company – A joint-stock company chartered by Queen Elizabeth on 31 December
1600 that existed until 1858. Over the centuries it became one of the largest and most
powerful. In “The Pirate Queen,” the character Bingham indicates he would rather have
pursued his royal commission in Asia. The real Bingham was not involved with the initial trading
forays into the Orient, but the fictional character’s reticence to be involved with Ireland reflects
the general attitude of much of the Elizabethan nobility. It was something of a punishment to
be asked to govern in Ireland, instead of being able to explore more lucrative trading
opportunities.
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Empire – A state uniting many territories and peoples under a single sovereign power. The idea
of an expanding English Empire was not in Elizabeth’s mind at the beginning of her reign, and
never really one of her goals. Ireland had been under the titular rule of the English for almost
400 years by the time she came to the throne. Most (though not all) of the Irish chieftains had
capitulated to Henry II in 1170, rather than fight him and his vastly superior army. Since that
time, the English monarch had been Lord of Ireland. Henry VIII finally had himself crowned as
King of Ireland in 1541. By the 16th century, there were basically three kinds of inhabitants in
Ireland: the native Irish, the English, and the Anglo-Irish – the colonizing English families who
had been there so long they were practically Irish. The only part of Ireland truly controlled by
the English was Dublin and its surrounds, called the Pale. So the attempt to “civilize” Ireland
wasn’t really an attempt to create an English empire, as simply continuing a conflict that had
been going on for centuries already. Elizabeth’s courtiers later in her reign, however, were
interested in the idea of “Empire” as they sought out economic opportunities and colonies in
the New World and the Orient.
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England – The large southern portion of an island off the west coast of Europe, named after the
Angles, a Germanic tribe that settled there in the 5th century AD. By the 16th century, it was
ruled by a monarch and claimed control over neighboring Wales, Ireland and even France.
During Elizabeth’s reign, it was in varying degrees of conflict with France, Spain and Scotland,
and a reluctant ally of European Protestants.
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Galleon – A large sailing ship with three or four masts and a high forecastle and stern,
developed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and used as both a war ship and a trader.
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Galley – A long, low, usually single decked ship propelled by oars and sails, used especially in
ancient and medieval times. The O’Malley ships were galleys. It is unknown for certain what
size or how many masts would have been on an O’Malley ship, but it probably had a low
draught, one mast and at least 30 oars.
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Glib – Classic Irish hair style including heavy bangs that would cover the forehead and eyes. The
English thought it savage and barbaric. Not a civilized hair cut at all. It’s also not a good hair
style for actors, since it hides their eyes and faces.
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Grace O’Malley – The Anglicized version of the name of a 16th century leader of the clan
O’Malley based in the north west of Ireland. She was known as Granuaile (say GRAH-nyu-ale),
Grania, Grainne, Grany and Grace, with her clan name variously indicated as Ui Mhaille, Ni
Mhaille and O’Malley.
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Halyard – A rope or tackle used for raising or lowering a flag or sail.
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Helm – The wheel or tiller by which a boat or ship is steered. Tillers and whipstaffs were used to
steer ships in the 16th century. Ships wheels weren’t invented until the 1700s.
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Keelhaul – to drag a person underwater, along the keel of a ship. The keel is the center, bottom
part of a ship. Keelhauling could result in nasty cuts from barnacles, loss of limbs and/or death.
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Ireland – An island off the north west coast of Europe. The name of the country comes from the
mother-goddess Eriu or Eire, one of three legendary goddess who ruled the country. Irish and
Celtic folk stories are filled with women leading and fighting. Ancient Celts had military leaders
of both sexes. Heroic Celtic men often used their mother’s name instead of a patronymic. The
advent of Christianity and Roman laws that came with it began to weaken the influence of
powerful warrior women in Irish society. Grace O’Malley isn’t an aberration as a female leader
so much as a return to a long lost tradition.
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Maps – There were no reliable maps of Ireland until the end of the 16th century. The actual
mapping of Ireland was a major contributing factor to the eventual overthrow of the Gaelic
world at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
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Pirate – One who commits robbery, kidnapping, or other criminal violence at sea. In Elizabethan
times, whether one considered another person a pirate depended a lot on whose side the
“pirate” was on. For example, if you were Spanish, Francis Drake, the first Englishman to sail
around the world, was a confirmed pirate who raided Spanish shipping and colonies mercilessly.
If you were English, he was a hero, legally justified in what he did because Queen Elizabeth gave
him permission to do it. She gave him letters of marque, making him a privateer, with
permission to attack the Spanish as he willed. Side note for U.S. citizens: only Congress can
grant letters of marque, but hasn’t done so since the 19th century.
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Portside or Port – the left side of a ship as one is facing forward.
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Rockfleet – A castle on Clew Bay and a home to Grace O’Malley.
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Shebeen – An establishment where liquor is sold. Comes from the Irish word for “Little Mug.”
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Spar – any pole supporting or extending a sail of a ship
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Starboard – The right side of a ship as one is facing forward.
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Surrender and Re-grant – A system Henry VIII started as part of his effort to ensure Irish loyalty
to England. The Irish nobility would surrender their lands and Gaelic title to England. England
then required of them an oath of loyalty to the English crown and a promise to follow English
law and customs. Then England would re-grant those same lands and an English title back to the
Irish noble. It is a relatively inexpensive way to spread English influence and law, and somewhat
effective. But there were no reliable maps of Irish lands, and clans were disputing their own
claims to Irish lands and titles, making it next to impossible for England to grant clear title to
anything. This could lead to conflict as one group fought with another over who controlled what
land and under what law. Elizabeth continued her father’s Surrender and Re-grant policy at the
beginning of her reign and didn’t really begin heavy military intervention until later in her reign.
The O’Malleys were one of the few Gaelic clans who had not ever submitted to the English
crown in this way.
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Terra marique potens – The O’Malley Latin motto. “Powerful on sea and land.”
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Tánaistry – The Gaelic tradition where a chieftain’s heir is chosen by the people during the
chieftain’s lifetime. So the heir, known as the tánaiste, was not necessarily the oldest son – as it
would be in English law. Donal O’Flaherty was the tánaiste of his clan. However, through the
Surrender and Re-grant program Elizabeth appointed Murrough na dTuadh to be Lord of IarChonnacht, which was basically the same territory. There was conflict between the English and
Irish over these competing claims to the lands and titles.
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Twelve Bens – A mountain range with twelve peaks, in Connemara about 40 miles south of Clew
Bay.