logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2021
54m 10s

Grainne O’Malley

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr Gillian Kenny and comedian Catherine Bohart in 16th century Ireland to look at the life of pirate queen Grainne O’Malley.

Against the backdrop of the changing legal landscape of Ireland as it faced brutality from incoming English administrators, we look at the difficult decisions Grainne was forced to make to ensure her family's survival. From bold changes to her appearance as a teenager to ensure her place on her fathers ship, to aggressive actions on a castle that refused to serve her food. Grainne O’Malley was not a woman to be messed with. This strength and defiance would lead to an unlikely understanding with Queen Elizabeth I.

Produced by Cornelius Mendez Script by Greg Jenner and Emma Nagouse Research by Jessica White

The Athletic production for BBC Radio 4

Up next
Yesterday
Hypatia of Alexandria (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in late antique Egypt by Professor Edith Hall and comedian Olga Koch to learn about the life of mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria.An important mathematical and astronomical thinker, Hypatia is best known today for her brutal death at the hands of Christian ... Show More
28m 8s
May 29
Geoffrey Chaucer (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in medieval England by Professor Marion Turner and comedian Mike Wozniak to learn all about Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales.Since the 15th century, Chaucer has been referred to as the father of English literature. He was one of the first aut ... Show More
28m 1s
May 22
Lena Horne (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in 20th-century America by Dr Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about singer and Hollywood actress Lena Horne.Born into a middle class Black family in New York, a young Lena Horne soon followed in the footsteps of her actres ... Show More
28m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2022
Grace O'Malley, an Irish 'Pirate Queen'
<p>Grace O'Malley or Granuaile is an iconic name in Irish history. Born in 1530, she emerged as a powerful leader in the West of Ireland in ruthless and violent era as the Tudor reconquest of the Island was in full swing. Grace is often called a pirate queen, a chieftain or even ... Show More
36m 9s
Aug 2023
Folk Heroes: Grace O’Malley
Grace O’Malley (c. 1530-1603) is known as the iconic, pirate queen of Ireland. She is remembered through folklore as a skilled ship captain, a notorious rebel against the English monarchy, and a fierce pirate. Further Reading Grace O'Malley: The Pirate Queen of Ireland The extrao ... Show More
5m 10s
Dec 2009
Mary Wollstonecraft
Melvyn Bragg and guests John Mullan, Karen O'Brien and Barbara Taylor discuss the life and ideas of the pioneering British Enlightenment thinker Mary Wollstonecraft.Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 into a middle-class family whose status steadily sank as her inept, brutal, dr ... Show More
41m 59s
Mar 2023
Gráinne O'Malley (Grace O'Malley) part 1
Gráinne O'Malley (often known as Grace O'Malley) has gone down in history as The Pirate Queen. Born into the powerful, seafaring O'Malley clan in western Ireland, she took to the pirate's life at a young age. Basically, everything a woman wasn't supposed to do at the time, Gráinn ... Show More
44m 34s
Dec 2022
The Queen of England and the Queen of Pirates
<p>Grace O'Malley, or Gráinne Mhaol, has become an Irish folk hero, a woman who led a crew of men and galley ships and stood up to the English occupiers in Ireland. But it's her legendary meeting with Queen Elizabeth I—a moment of diplomacy—in England that has fascinated historia ... Show More
36m 11s
Apr 2019
The Great Irish Famine
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why the potato crop failures in the 1840s had such a catastrophic impact in Ireland. It is estimated that one million people died from disease or starvation after the blight and another two million left the country within the decade. There had been ... Show More
57m 19s
Jan 2024
23. Jane and Ann Boyd - Secret Baby
Lucy Worsley travels back in time to revisit the unthinkable crimes of 19th century murderesses from the UK, Australia and North America.In this episode Lucy is joined by the Right Honourable Dame Siobhan Keegan, the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, who was one of the firs ... Show More
29m 18s
Nov 2021
The Irish famine: everything you wanted to know
Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the causes and consequences of the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century. Speaking to Ellie ... Show More
54m 28s
Jul 2018
Grace O'Malley
Grainne Ui Mhaille (Grace O'Malley) was a terror of the open seas; living her life on her own terms during a turbulent time in her country. She defied society and carved out a niche for herself, but it was her meeting with Queen Elizabeth in 1593 that cemented her place in histor ... Show More
1h 29m
Mar 2023
Bad Bridget: When American Dreams became Nightmares
<p>Emigration has been one of the defining features of Irish life since the Great Hunger. Generations have been drawn to the United States in the hope of finding a better life across the Atlantic. Many succeeded but for some these dreams became nightmares.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Over th ... Show More
27m 51s