Granuaile

Post written by Kathleen:
Granuaile (gran ya wail) – what the heck is that? When I was a child, I heard the story that we were descendants of a great Irish pirate queen, by the name of Grace O’Malley. I grew up around legends and stories, and thought there was nothing much to them. The first time I visited Ireland, my relatives took me to see the ruins of some of her outpost “castles”, with placards cementing her very real existence. Her history is colorful and very interesting and worth the research. Granuaile is the anglicized version of the Gaelic Grainne Mhaol – Grace O’Malley. My paternal grandmother was Lenore O’Malley, and I credit her with keeping our family history and lore alive in our American family.
When it came time to pick a name for our vessel, this seemed perfect – to honor an ancestor, as well as to recognize the bit of pirate in all of us. May her courage, fortitude and thirst for adventure continue to live on in us, our families, and our journeys!