Post by ~~*Buffy Bloom*~~ on Nov 5, 2006 17:30:34 GMT
The Olde Tale of The O’Malley Queen
Grace O’Malley, as the English refer to her, or otherwise known as Gráinne Ní Mháille was born in the early sixteenth century, 1530, when Henry VIII was on the throne of England. She was the daughter of Owen Dubhdarra O’Malley, chieftain of the O’Malley clan. The O'Malleys control most of the barony of Murrisk in South-West County Mayo and recognised as their nominal overlords the gaelicised anglo-norman Burke or de Burgo family. Unusually among the Irish nobility, the O'Malleys were a great seafaring family and taxed all those who fished off their coasts, which included fishermen from as far away as England. Their leader bore the ancient Irish title of The O'Malley.
As a young girl, Grace wished to venture with her father on a trading expedition to Spain, and on being told that she could not - for her long hair would catch in the ship’s rose – she cut off her hair, thus earning her nickname ‘Gráinne Mhaol’ (‘Moal’ meaning ‘bald’ in Irish). So began her love for the sea.
Throughout her lifetime, Grace pillaged and fought, married twice, bore four children, led rebellions, negotiated with Queen Elizabeth and was titled the ‘Pirate Queen of Connacht’. She died at the age of seventy-three.
Tiobóid na Long Burke (Tibbot of the ships), her third son from her second husband Richard-an-Iarainn Burke, or ‘Richard-in-Iron’ was later given the title of Viscount Mayo. Later on in his life, he finally became a father, to a son, Adamnan Burke.
Adamnan lives the life of a lord. He did not acknowledge his ancestry of piracy and legacy, and following his fathers death, he erased his heritage altogether and rid himself of his name and clan. He then became known as Adamnan O’Donnell. He’s a pious protestant man, says his prayers, goes to church, does his daily work and refuses any nonsense.
When he married, his wife, Rowena, bore child within three months of their marriage. A sprite little daughter, whom they named Evelyn Ula O’Donnell.
Unfortunately, Rowena died three years later due to the famine. As if his grief was not enough, the Act of Settlement caused further trouble for Adamnan. Moving to Connacht and converting to Protestantism, he managed to keep his status.
However, to his dismay, his daughter was a true descendent of Gráinne. She was aggressive and spent a lot of time gallivanting in the fields and gardens up to no good. By the age of five she already refused to call herself by her given name, and insisted that she was Evelyn Ula O’Malley. She frequently found herself in trouble, and certainly did not show any propreity to her father, nor any guests. Growing further more frustrated, Adamnan soon arranged a betrothal to Frederick de Bourbon, which would thus grant the title of future Queen of England for his daughter. Fortunately for young Evelyn, his aunt, Henrietta Maria halted the arranged marriage in learning from none other than a Bingham about her blood line.
Adamnan was persistent, he then arranged a marriage to Leopold I Habsburg, the second son of Ferdinand III. Evelyn was ten years of age, and Leopold was thirteen years her senior. She refused once more, stating that she would ‘never marry into royalty, not even the Romans, let alone into the monarchy of bl**din’ England!’ And in demanding her freedom, she fled from home. She went to seek the clan she truly belonged – The O’Malley Clan.
Sadly, Evelyn never made it to her true family. In her circumstances, she thieved and played the fiddle, scowering the streets and sleeping in fields and farms. Several months passed by and she made her way to the nearest harbour. Sneaking aboard a merchant ship, she cut off her firey red hair, and guised herself as a boy. In being young and inexperienced, she scrubbed decks and climbed riggings, which wasn’t quite pleasurable, but she much preferred it to going back home. And so she continued her work, ignoring the aches and bruises until her body adapted to her sailor boy life. As months passed, in fear of being exposed she would transfer to a different ship when they docked.
In 1668, when Evelyn reached the age of seventeen, the merchant ship that Evelyn was aboard was attacked in Porto Bello, Panama. By none other than pirates. She soon found herself aboard the ship of Captain Henry Morgan as a prisoner. Knowing her chances, she signed the articles and joined his crew. Fate it seemed brought her to the life she knew she was destined to have. A life of piracy.
However, during battle Evelyn’s concern came to light – she was cut across the chest and revealed. A woman. To her relief, Henry spoke to her and assured her that it was not a problem, in fact, he began to teach her his ways, from fighting skills to strategic skills. A friendship grew between them. As time passed, friendship became something else.
At eighteen, Evelyn became engaged to Henry. They would soon be wed. A year later Henry set out to plunder the gold from Panama, and after many losses and much fighting, the Spanish finally fled in retreat. Alas, the English were no longer at war with Spain and Henry was arrested to be executed. He’s now known as dead.
A widow before becoming a bride, Evelyn managed to escape the situation with most of the crew. She commandeered a ship, her very own flagship, ‘The Emerald Liberty’. As the newly appointed Captain, she set about to live up to the legend of her great grandmother, and become the resurrected ‘Pirate Queen’.
She treats her crew as family, her eyes are quickly drawn to objects that twinkle, and she quenches her thirst for lust as often as she can. She’s protective of her crew, known as the ‘O’Malley Clan’ and has certainly honed the skills she learnt from Henry. She has a fleet of twenty-six ships, ‘The Emerald Liberty’ being her home. The other ships have been appointed a captain, or rather chieftains from the clan and are scattered across the world, plundering and exploring as they go. Her current taste is Rory Doran, a fellow Irish pirate of the sea, whom she had known since joining Henry’s crew.
Who knows where the tides will take her? Having discovered some interesting information from a Caribbean pirate that she had relations with, it seems her eye is set upon Port Royal. She must find her heading, and in order to her heading she must find a young blacksmith. Everything must go according to plan, but soon talks of curses arise...