Pirate Queen (8 page)

A year later, Sir Henry Sidney arrives in Connacht with a large force of soldiers. He demands that the Irish chieftains and Anglo-Norman lords come to meet him in Galway at once. If they refuse, their land and property will be seized.

Richard Bourke, as leader of one branch of the Bourke clan, is not considered important enough to be summoned to Galway. The MacWilliam, chief of all the Bourkes, goes, however. In addition to his earlier
submission
, this time he agrees to uphold English law in Mayo and to raise an army of two hundred men in the name of the Crown. In return for his promises The MacWilliam is granted a knighthood.

Richard Bourke is jealous, but Granuaile is
contemptuous
. ‘Earldoms. Knighthoods. Apparently with a wave of her hand Elizabeth can make anyone noble, even a fool or a scoundrel!’ she says.

Dubhdara’s kinsman Melaghlin has been elected chieftain of the O’Malleys. He travels to Galway and gives the submission Dubhdara never would. Melaghlin claims it is the only way he can protect O’Malley lands from
seizure
. He says he has no choice.

But Granuaile refuses to believe that. There is always a choice.

The English she-king may have forced an O’Malley submission. But she did not get one from Granuaile.

Most of the Irish are indifferent to the growing power of Elizabeth Tudor. At one time, Ireland had more than two hundred tribal kings. These owed loyalty to their
provincial
kings, who in turn acknowledged a high king as overlord. It made little difference to the common people. Their lives were the same no matter who ruled.

They do not expect things to change under a monarch who lives far away.

Granuaile does not accept the situation so calmly. She has observed the English taking control of Iar Connacht by overthrowing Gaelic law. The new order has not been
created
for the benefit of Irish people.

The English are gnawing away at their freedom, bit by bit.

When Richard Bourke comes to visit her at Rockfleet, Granuaile lies awake at night listening to him snore. She is amazed that he can sleep so deeply. She does not sleep well any more, but his snoring is not the problem.

Staring up into the gloom above the bed, Granuaile tries to imagine the face of Elizabeth of England.

The sense of defiance is growing in Granuaile. She has brought one of the great lords to heel, made him come crawling to her. It is a heady feeling.

She continues to use the sea for fishing and trading, but also begins raiding farmsteads along the coast. Granuaile never attacks O’Malleys or Bourkes, but anyone else who is friendly with the New English can expect an unpleasant visit.

She works her way around the hinterlands of Clew Bay, capturing a castle here, a stronghold there. She takes control of the island of Inishbofin, where merchant ships stop to take on fresh water. Granuaile begins charging them for the water. She also impounds the boats of the islanders. Deprived of their means of livelihood, the men of Inishbofin elect to join Granuaile.

Her raiding intensifies.

New complaints against the pirate queen pour in to the governor of Connacht, Sir Henry Sidney.

In February of 1577 Henry Sidney marches on Castle Barry, the stronghold of Edmund Bourke. Edmund Bourke has long resisted the New English. Sidney seizes his castle and gives it to Shane MacOliverus, The MacWilliam. The message is obvious – the Bourkes who surrender will be rewarded, the rest will suffer.

Sidney’s deed splits the Bourke clan. Granuaile admits to herself that it is good military strategy.

‘No English man with grasping hands will ever enter the portal of Rockfleet,’ Granuaile says defiantly to Richard-in-Iron, ‘because this castle is no longer a Bourke holding. Not since you surrendered it to me.’

‘You are a clever woman,’ he replies, amused rather than angry.

‘Richard, we must go together and meet Sidney when he returns to Galway.’

He is astonished. ‘Sidney will not see you. A mere woman!’

Richard has never understood Granuaile. But he no longer argues with her.

Taking three of her largest galleys and two hundred fighting men, a mixed force of O’Malleys and
O’Flaherties
, they sail boldly into Galway Bay. The English understand bribes. They will surely recognise the value of this one.

Granuaile and Richard are shown into the castle where Sir Henry Sidney has his apartments. It is a cold, dark, gloomy place with a vile odour. Granuaile cannot help wrinkling her nose in distaste. She is used to having the sea wind in her nostrils. The New English do not bathe and every place they occupy smells sour.

Sidney has seen any number of major and minor chieftains, but he has never before faced an Irish woman who leads men in her own right. Granuaile strides into his audience chamber with her head high, as befits a
sheking
. As far as Granuaile is concerned, Sidney is an underling.

He sits behind a long oaken table piled high with documents. His clothing is dusty and his eyes are tired. ‘He is not as big as I expected,’ Granuaile whispers to Richard behind her hand.

Speaking to Sidney in the Latin tongue they both understand, she tells him that she knows the exact number of Elizabeth’s ships and the size and armaments of their crews. ‘They are not enough to subdue this coast,’
she assures him. ‘Not if the seafaring tribes of the west stand against you.’

It is a bluff, but Granuaile is a trader who long ago learned the art of bluffing. Fortunately Sidney cannot hear her heart pounding beneath her cloak. ‘I command both the O’Malley and the O’Flaherty fleets,’ she adds. ‘I am sure you know of our many successes in sea battles.’

Sidney is watching her very carefully. He does not once look past her to Richard, who stands in silence behind her.

At last the Englishman props his elbows on the table and leans forward. ‘I have heard of you, Grace O’Malley,’ he pronounces her name in the English way. ‘You are a notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland.’

Granuaile does not disagree.

‘I have come to offer you three galleys and two
hundred
men,’ she says calmly. ‘They will be a great asset. I am sure you would rather have them with you than against you.’

He nods, slowly. ‘What do you ask in return?’

‘Simply to be left alone in my own place. There is nothing of value for you in Clew Bay. A few stone forts, fishing grounds, a goodly amount of seaweed – I am
certain
you have more to gain elsewhere, and for less effort.’

Sidney nods again. ‘All you ask is to be left alone?’

‘That is all.’

He rubs his chin. ‘I suppose it is not too much to ask.’

Clew Bay is nothing to him,
Granuaile tells herself.
But it is the world to me.

The morning is radiant. Granuaile leaves the tower house on Clare Island to walk along the headland, gazing out over the water. Clew Bay has never looked more beautiful to her. She has pitted her wits against the foreigners and succeeded. There are no English warships at the mouth of the bay. The O’Malleys can fish and trade without hindrance. The Bourke holdings around the shore are undisturbed.

Tibbott, miles away in Kinturk Castle, can sleep safely in his bed.

She descends the narrow path to the tiny inlet below the tower house. This is her private bay, one of her
favourite
places. A crescent of pure white sand slopes into water the colour of a peacock’s tail. It is so clear she can see the individual grains of sand on the bottom. Granuaile always has a small boat or two hidden away in the caves that ring the inlet.

She stands for a long time, musing. The sun is warm on her head. The sea birds cry, adding their voices to that
of the wind. Otherwise all is silent. It might be a thousand years ago or a thousand years from now. And she is a part of it.

It is time to take out the fishing fleet. As she makes her preparations, Granuaile can feel the tide rising in the bay. Even with her eyes closed, she knows the exact
conditions
of the sea.

But they will change tomorrow.

Her eyes open abruptly.

The water is very calm. A few gentle swells, nothing more. Yet there is a faint, unpleasant scent on the wind. A sour smell. Suddenly Granuaile throws up her head, every sense quivering.