Spain in it’s attempt to defeat England, sought help from as many Catholic countries as possible. They hoped that they could rally the Irish clans into a war with their English oppressors.
Granuaile was hesitant to participate, but husband Richard was eager to join the fight and became one of the leaders against England. He and Granuaile’s former jailer, the Earl of Desmond, attacked villages up and down the coast that were loyal to the Queen.
It wasn’t long before Richard met his match and was defeated by Sir Nicholas Malby and forced to surrender. Granuaile intervened by writing a petition on Richard’s behalf to Malby.
Now, by this time the English forces were spread pretty thin and the masterful wording and nature of Granuaile’s petition persuaded the English to spare Richard and even allow him to retain his men and property. The pledge of his allegiance to the Queen was too attractive of an offer for the English in their war against Spain.
What happened next was brilliance on Granuaile’s part. One of the reasons for marrying Richard was his right to become the MacWilliam or head of his clan. With that came leadership over the warriors of the clan, and Granuaile sought to use that power for her own objectives.
Granuaile’s lobbying on behalf of her husband convinced Queen Elizabeth to grant a title that they were trying to eliminate to a recent enemy of England. The title of MacWilliam was from Gaelic law not English, but the Crown was willing to grant the request in return for the support of Granuaile and Richard and their troops.
Elizabeth’s agreement didn’t last, as time went by Richard and Granuaile found it more and more difficult to live under English rule. They both believed the English to have less social and political standing then themselves. After all, they were both descended from Irish royalty.
Richard died when Granuaile was fifty-three years old. She had secured a legal right to his property and took possession of several of his castles. She now had her own army, a large castle to live in and several smaller castles, a fleet of ships and plenty of livestock.
The Most Powerful Woman in Ireland
Granuaile was the most powerful woman in Ireland. With that power came problems. The English were increasing their efforts to do away with Irish aristocracy. One of the titles they were eliminating was that of the MacWilliam.
Granuaile had fought for the title for Richard, knowing that her son would be the next in line for it. To show her contempt for the decision, she began attacking English merchant ships and taking their cargo.
The English decided to make an example of her. They began by capturing her youngest son Tibbott. Instead of ransoming him back, the English sought to indoctrinate him in Eglish ways. Granuaile’s oldest son, Owen, was killed by the brother of Sir Richard Bingham, when he was caught trying to hide his livestock to avoid paying taxes.
Granuaile was outraged at Owen’s execution. She joined in the Irish rebellion and set sail for Scotland to recruit additional soldiers.
Bingham was able to capture her before she reached Scotland. He killed some of her kinsmen and soldiers and imprisoned Granuaile. He threatened her with execution, but her daughter’s husband was able to negotiate her release.
As soon as she was free, she set out for Scotland. Once again she did not reach her destination, this time a storm damaged her ships and she put in to Ulster for repairs.
She spent three months in Ulster, meeting with clan chieftans, gaining support for the rebellion. Before anything could be done, the rebellion ended. The Crown had decided to replace Bingham with Sir John Perrot.
Perrot had been critical of Bingham and Granuaile quickly set sail to meet him. She convinced him to grant herself and her children a full pardon.
The Spanish Armada
On the 12th of July, 1588, the Spanish Armada started for the English Channel. Over 150 ships, 8,000 sailers and 18,000 soldiers armed with 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns were about to invade England. It took two full days for the entire Armada to leave port.
The English were concerned and replaced Perrot with Bingham, a more fierce adversary if any Spanish ships ended up in Ireland. The Armada however, stands as one of the most infamous military blunders in history. The Spanish were decisively defeated, by the time they returned home they had lost a third of their forces.
Bingham, back in power, sent his sheriff to Granuaile’s castle, suspecting her of harboring Spanish soldiers. Granuaile was away when the sheriff arrived, but her grandson Richard Bourke resisted the invasion of her home. When the sheriff and his men marched on to the castle’s grounds, Bourke and his men killed the sheriff and twenty-five of his soldiers.
That action intensified the discord between the English and Granuaile. By 1592, Granuaile and her son Tibbott were the last two leaders among the Irish resisting English rule.
Bingham had anchored many warships in the harbors near Granuaile’s castles, making it almost impossible for her few remaining ships to find safe places to harbor in overnight. When Tibbott suggested that they make peace with the English, she realized she was running out of options.
The Pirate Queen Meets Queen Elizabeth
The fact that Granuaile was a great warrior and leader is not disputed, but she was an even greater diplomat. She composed a letter to Queen Elizabeth, giving her side to the story she knew the Queen had heard from Bingham. She portrayed herself as just an old woman trying to survive and protect her family in a country torn apart by war.
She praised Elizabeth’s leadership and asked for help for herself and her family, who were merely victims of circumstance. Finally, she asked for the one thing neither of the women had enjoyed for long, peace.
Before the letter could reach London, Bingham arrested Tibbott, and accused him of burning his home and killing his men. Granuaile knew her son would not receive a fair trial and made the decision to leave for London immediately and speak to Elizabeth in person.
When the meeting was over, Granuaile had secured Elizabeth’s promise that Tibbott’s case would be looked into. In September of 1593, Queen Elizabeth instructed Bingham to release Tibbott and his men and return their land to them. She also ordered that money should be deducted from their taxes and given to Granuaile for her living expenses.
Bingham had to comply, but was angry at the decision. He continued to harrass Granuaile and her kinsmen at every chance. Granuaile was forced to return to London to ask for relief from his constant harassment. Elizabeth granted her the help she sought, but also demanded that Granuaile become supportive of the English rule in Ireland.
Granuaile was still practicing piracy, although not as often, as late as 1601, but never fought the English again. The exact date of her death is unknown, but it marks the end of the era when of the great Irish chieftains.
Read Part I of The Pirate Queen: https://iirish.us/2025/05/15/cleveland-comhra-the-pirate-queen/
