There is a story told as to how she got one of her nicknames: Grainne Mhaol (i.e. Bald). As a young girl she begged her father to allow her to travel on one of their ships setting sail for Spain. Her mother rebuked her saying that the life of the sea was not for a young lady. She left them and promptly returned with her long hair cut short like a boy. Her family was greatly amused and gave her that nickname. From her later exploits one would assume she did take that ship to Spain.

What’s in a name?

There has always been much speculation as to how Grace O’Malley became known, mainly through folklore, as Granuaile (Gráinne Mhaol, the word ‘maol’ meaning bald.) It is likely that the name Granuaile is a corrupt amalgam of the Gaelic Gráinne Uí Mháille or alternatively Gráinne Umhail (Grace of Umhall). There are many anglicized versions of her name contained in the English state papers, including Grany O’Maly, Grany Imallye, Granny Nye Male, Grany O’Mayle, Granie ny Maille, Granny ni Maille, Grany O’Mally, Grayn ny Mayle, Grane ne Male, Grainy O’Maly and Granee O’Maillie.

Source: Ann Chambers, Granuaile, The Life and Times of Grace O’Malley c.1530-1603.

Donal and Grainne at the wedding

The Gráinne Mhaol Project

Macnas is a community based arts and theatre company. Founded in 1986 in Galway, Ireland, Macnas has established itself as one of the most exciting energies in the Arts in Ireland. Macnas brings its particular blend of imagination, passion, wit and self-confidence to bear on a heritage of Irish story and legend in a variety of settings: in theatres, on streets, in stadiums and in television studios in Ireland and abroad.

Macnas first came to national attention in Ireland when a 20 metre long representation of Gulliver was washed up on a beach in Dublin as part of the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988. They have reinforced their position as a force to be reckoned with in the Arts in Ireland with a succession of carnival-style parades for the Galway Arts Festival which attract huge numbers of people to Galway each July.

There is now a strong international dimension to Macnas' work. In the last number of years Macnas has toured extensively throughout Europe. During the Summer of 1993, Macnas was part of Irish Supergroup U2's Zooropa '93 tour which took them to 17 countries to a total audience of three million people over four months. In November 1995, Macnas created a spectacular opening for the MTV European Music Awards in Paris which was seen by an estimated world-wide audience of 600 million.
The development of Macnas's indoor theatre work has been no less successful with the unique Macnas style of physical theatre, married to a live musical accompaniment, providing the basis for an exceptionally exciting body of work.
Macnas combines its international touring of theatre and street spectacles with a continuing commitment to developing Community Arts celebrations and training in Ireland. With a workforce in excess of 50 made up of performers, animateurs, designers, technicians and administrators, Macnas is involved in a variety of projects in schools, with people with disability and with Community Arts groups all over Ireland passing on the expertise gained by this unique company in the ten years of its existence.

Clan members listen

Press Reviews

Irish Independant magazine
July 10 2002

No Galway Arts Festival would be worthy of the name without the participation of Macnas, which has for a decade been one of the main movers behind the city's thriving cultural scene. This year the company has foregone its traditional parade to concentrate its energies on a production of Grainne Mhaol a dramatic presentation of the life of the feisty 16th cenfury pirate queen, Grace O'Malley

"Macnas was born out of the festival 10 years ago," explains Parkinson "The people who founded the festival 25 years ago then went on to found Macnas Grainne Mhaol is a huge production. The tent is massive -three times the capacity of the Black Box - and they're also re-enacting some of the scenes on the streets. It should be brilliant"

The ancient story of Grainne Mhaol was adapted especially for the festival by the writer Patricia Forde It was a conscious decision by the company, it says in the programme notes "to explore a narrative with a central female character and a strong West of Ireland connection"

There are between 200 and 300 people working on the production, including 50 voluntary members of the community in the cast as well as 17 professional actors. The indoor production takes place in the Festival Big Top in the Fisheries Field and runs from Mon July 15- Sat July 20.

Having been allowed to sneak into a rehearsal, your correspondent can vouch for the huge scale of the production - including some pretty gigantic props. The show, directed, by Kathi Leahy, will travel to Coventry and Dublin after its run at the festival.

Memories

I invite all participants and/or those who saw the show to enter their memories into this space. Photos of the show most welcome

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Jim Aherne