Irish pirate

[MrSnailGrave]

any one know any thing about it what one would look like or in there where any.

[Iron Bess]

Aye, there were indeed Irish/Celt Pirates...

However the most *Effective* was a woman:

Grace O’Malley / Granuaile Grace O’Malley or Granuaile is often described as a sort of "pirate queen." Born in 1530 in Connaught on the West coast of Ireland, the daughter of a chieftain whose clan ruled the area from several castles and a fleet of ships–until the British put the Irish under their rule. Grace went to sea on her clan’s ships very early in life. Granuaile means "bald"–a name which apparently came from her decision to cut her hair short like the men. Otherwise, Grace at first had a very common life; in 1546 she married a young man and had three children by him. When he died, she returned to her clan and took over the fleet, which numbered at least one galley–one of the few in Ireland.

Grace remarried in 1566 and moved to County Mayo where she raided other clans and attacked passing merchant ships. When the British came to stop her piratical attacks, Grace fought back, eventually forcing them to retreat. She continued her activities, but now focused more on harassing the British. A later raid on Limerick in 1577 saw her capture and imprisonment for 18 months.

Grace’s husband died and she found herself without lands or financial support–Irish law did not guarantee that the wife could inherit the husband’s land. She began raiding the English holdings nearby. This incurred the wrath of the Governor of the province, Sir Richard Bingham, who had her fleet impounded in 1593. Grace felt this was so unjust, she appealed to Queen Elizabeth I by letter and then–when Bingham arrested her son–in person. She asked that the Queen have her fleet released and give Grace an annual stipend to live on for the rest of her days so that she would not have to pirate. She also vowed to fight the Queen’s enemies. No record was made of the meeting (although there are many stories and poems of the encounter), but it did occur, since the Queen wrote to Bingham to do as Grace wished. Bingham kept the ships impounded until he was replaced by his successor. Grace’s son took over the fleet, and was as loyal to the Crown as his mother, as he was made Viscount Mayo in 1627. Grace O’Malley died in 1603.