Pirate Queen (10 page)

Granuaile meets twice with Lord Grey. He speaks neither Irish nor Spanish. Because she does not want him to know that she is educated, she speaks no Latin.
It is best if he
underestimates
me
, she thinks.

When she is first brought before him she jabbers very urgently in Irish, as if she has something important to tell. She waves her arms. She makes wild gestures. Then she catches his eyes and holds them. She begins to speak more slowly. She wants him to think she is being
reasonable
, even if he cannot understand her words.

An interpreter is soon provided. Granuaile twists her hands together and bows low in gratitude.

With no great difficulty she convinces the lord justice that she is a poor, sad old woman. In remorse for her crimes she pounds her breast with her fists. She bites her tongue to make tears come to her eyes.

Grey is very moved. When she begins to tear her hair out, he motions to one of his guards to hold her hands.
Then he comes around the table and strokes her shoulder to calm her.

The new lord justice is not as clever as he thinks. He judges Granuaile by what he sees. She tells herself,
he would not long survive at sea, where one must read the tides beneath the surface.

Among the many rumours she has heard in the
dungeons
of Dublin Castle is one about Lord Grey. He is to lead the queen’s armies in putting down the Desmond rebellion. Granuaile describes in detail the damage
Desmond
has done her. She stresses her passionate thirst for revenge. Then she makes an offer.

‘If I am allowed to return to my ships,’ she tells the lord justice, ‘my fleet will prevent any supplies reaching Desmond by way of Limerick and the Shannon.’

Grey listens thoughtfully, then dismisses her. She is not taken back to her cell. Instead she is given a room elsewhere in the Castle, and the next morning he sends for her again. This time she is brought to him without shackles.

Granuaile knows then that she has won.

‘Of course we cannot permit you to resume your piracy and raiding,’ Grey tells her. ‘Such deeds defy the queen’s law.’

She keeps her face blank. Elizabeth Tudor is
building
a vast network through piracy and raiding, but she does not mention this.

She is fighting for her life. Sometimes that is best done with silence.

Lord Grey says, ‘However, there is one way in which you can retain command of your fleet. If you use them only to deny supplies to the rebel Desmond, your ships will not be seized. Are we agreed?’

Granuaile bows low. Very low. ‘Her Majesty is most generous,’ she replies.

She does not actually give her word, however. She lets the lord justice think she has given her word, which is not the same thing. Granuaile is of the Gael – she will not break an oath once given. But never will she swear an oath to her enemies.

Having to go through an interpreter helps. Without a language in common, there is always the possibility of being misunderstood.

Grey believes what he wants to believe, as people do. Then he makes a generous gesture of his own. ‘As the queen’s obedient servant,’ Grey tells her, ‘you will be allowed to rest in Dublin for a few weeks to regain your strength. I shall arrange an apartment for you in an inn nearby. A small sum will be provided for your
personal
needs. You will be able to purchase food and wine and a few bits of clothing. When you are fit for the
journey
, you will be put aboard the next ship going to Galway.’

The following day, Granuaile smuggles out a note to her youngest son, now eleven years old:

A feeble old woman totters off the English merchant ship onto the docks of Galway. Her shoulders are bowed, her head hangs low. The sailors watching from the deck
elbow
each other and laugh. They call out a few insults but she does not respond. Then they return to unloading their cargo. One more pitiful, broken prisoner is soon forgotten.

The sailors do not watch her walk away. They do not see her head gradually come up, her shoulders go back, her stride lengthen. The years fall away from her. By the time she reaches the city gates, Granuaile is once more the she-king of the western seas.

Granuaile meets with her sons Owen and Murrough at Bunowen, then goes to Achill Island to visit her daughter Margaret. Her children are startled by her changed
appearance
. ‘There is no need to be concerned,’ she tells them. ‘Though my hair is grey and my face is gaunt, my heart is as strong as ever.’

When at last she sees Toby at Rockfleet she merely puts her arms around him and holds on tight.

After spending the summer at sea, Granuaile feels
restored
. The sea is both her home and her business. She rests on its bosom. She ploughs its waters as landmen plough their fields. Its fish are her herds. When she longs for companionship she listens to the voice of the waves.

The sea has been her teacher, too. There were times at sea when she has been hungry, thirsty, frightened, exhausted, too cold, too hot, and in great peril. Sometimes all in the same voyage. Surviving the hardships of a
seagoing
life has given Granuaile a quick mind and the ability to endure anything.

In the autumn the pope sends a small force of French, Spanish, and English troops to the southern coast of
Ireland
. Their purpose is to unite the Irish against the heretic Elizabeth. They are seeking help from the earl of
Desmond
among others. Although Desmond treated Granuaile badly, she decides to be his ally in the struggle.

‘My enemy’s enemy must be my friend,’ she tells Richard Bourke.

There is much to do. Employing all her skills of secrecy, she begins importing guns for the princes of the north. The earl of Tyrone, Hugh O’Neill, and his ally Hugh O’Donnell are determined that Ulster will not be conquered.

Some of the O’Malleys and the O’Flaherties attempt to come to the aid of the pope’s invasion force. They urge The MacWilliam to join them. He refuses, but Richard Bourke accepts. He leads a band of warriors to plunder territories known to be sympathetic to the English.

Although they do not live as man and wife any more, Granuaile is quietly proud of Richard-in-Iron.

Then Sir Nicholas Malby replaces Sir Edward Fitton as governor of Connacht. Malby seizes a castle belonging to Richard’s chief counsellor. He puts its occupants – men, women and children alike – to the sword. This
demonstration
of deliberate cruelty frightens Richard’s followers. They claim they must go home to help with the herds, to help with the harvest … and they melt away. One after another, they melt away.

When Malby captures Burrishoole, Richard’s defeat seems certain.

Granuaile tells him that making a voluntary
submission
is better than being taken prisoner on the battlefield. ‘Tell them what they want to hear,’ she says, ‘and at least you will survive.’

But Richard has the bit in his teeth now. He does not play games, he insists, he is a warrior! He will fight to the death!

‘And to the death of our son,’ Granuaile retorts. ‘If you continue in this reckless way, Tibbott will pay for it.’ She orders her men to seize Richard and bundle him onto a ship to Scotland. There he is left to reflect on his position.

Some time later, when Granuaile learns that Shane MacOliverus is failing in health, she brings Richard back to Ireland. Although he grumbles, he does as Granuaile insists. Together they travel to Galway to offer his
submission
to Malby.

Granuaile stands at Richard’s shoulder as he bows before the Englishman – but she does not bow. She
listens
as he makes promises of submission – but she does not speak.

Her eyes stare off into a far distance.

Malby is surprisingly pleasant to the pair of them. After the formalities are over he offers food and wine. He even compliments Richard on the exceptional energy of his wife.

Granuaile pretends not to understand, but when Malby smiles at her she briefly smiles back. He is only human after all.

In November of 1580, Shane MacOliverus dies. Over the objections of the dead man’s younger brother, Malby allows Richard-in-Iron to assume the title of The MacWilliam.

The revolt in Mayo is over.

But Granuaile is still secretly running guns into Ulster for O’Donnell and O’Neill.

In September of 1581, Richard-in-Iron is granted a knighthood. Granuaile and young Tibbott attend the ceremony in Galway. She stands with her hand on her son’s shoulder. Her face is set in a proud mask. People assume she is proud of Richard. In actuality she is
thinking of the large number of muskets she has just
managed
to obtain for Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

Ireland is far from conquered.

There are many tides beneath the surface.

Granuaile continues to sell her services to the princes of the north. She hopes the guns she brings into Ireland will help to break the grip of the foreigners. She would carry the weapons for free if necessary, although she does not say this to her clients.

The chieftains of Tyrconnell and Tyrone entertain her in their strongholds. One of O’Donnell’s sons, a merry lad called Aed Rua, becomes her favourite. He is not as old as Toby, yet he is as brash and bold as a grown warrior, and his people love him dearly. Great things are predicted for Red Hugh.

Meanwhile Richard Bourke’s family is at the height of its power. In Mayo, Granuaile appears in public at his side. She takes full advantage of the protective cloak her position as his wife offers. The English do not understand that she is an independent woman.