11. Irish Heroine Grainne Mhaol Got Her Start In the Wilds of Connacht
Grainne Mhaol (circa 1530 – circa 1603) was an Irish heroine who fought the English on land and preyed upon their shipping at sea. Her English foes vilified her as “a woman who hath imprudently passed the part of womanhood“, and she was mostly ignored by contemporary chroniclers. Yet, her memory lived on in native folklore, and nationalists would later lionize her as an icon of the Irish fight for freedom and struggle against foreign domination.
Back then, there were two Irelands, with distinct cultures. There was the English enclave of Dublin and its surroundings, and there was the hinterland, inhabited by the native Irish and the Gaelicized Old English, whom the English viewed as uncivilized and wild, given to raid and strife and interminable violence. Mhaol was born and raised in Connacht in western Ireland, and belonged to the “wild Irish” hinterland, which consisted of various autonomous territories. Its rulers and inhabitants frequently feuded, raided each other, rustled cattle, captured and lost castles and strongholds, and otherwise fought for advantage and dominance. All were part of a clientele system, in which the weak aligned with the strong, offering tribute in exchange for protection. To thrive in that environment, one had to be a badass. Grace O’Malley was plenty badass.
