has managed to rescue a few of the Spaniards. He has given them refuge in his stronghold on Achill Island. But between six and eight thousand men have died on the shores of Connacht.
Half buried in the sand, Granuaile finds an elegant dagger with fine gold wire wrapped around the hilt. It has just been uncovered by the receding tide. Granuaile stoops to pick it up. An officer’s weapon, most likely. For all its beauty, the weapon shows signs of hard use. When Granuaile holds the weapon up to the sun, the blade does not gleam. It is badly nicked and covered with dark stains. The stains are not rust.
The Spanish have given me something after all, she thinks. She thrusts the dagger into her belt.
Word comes from Ulster. Clan O’Donnell has rescued a number of Armada survivors from ships wrecked off the coast of Donegal. They have been fed and clothed, and their injuries tended. But they are not yet on their way home. The O’Donnell has surrendered thirty Spanish officers to the English, pleading for the release of Red Hugh in return.
Once again Elizabeth’s privy council refuses the request. They also replace Sir John Perrot with a new lord deputy for Ireland, a man called Sir William Fitzwilliam. He promises not to be so ‘generous’ with the Irish. Bingham’s way of dealing with them suits him very well.
Richard Bingham orders that any Spaniards caught on the west coast are to be hanged at Galway. So are those who give them shelter.
When she learns of this Granuaile goes to warn The Devil’s Hook, who has added the Spanish men he rescued to his own warrior band. ‘Bingham will kill you if he finds out,’ she tells her son-in-law.
‘He will find out nothing,’ The Devil’s Hook reassures her. ‘My people are totally loyal to me, as yours are to you. The Spaniards are safe with us. I can protect you as well. Why do you not stay here for a while and enjoy your grandchildren?’
The invitation is impossible to refuse. Granuaile feels old age creeping into her joints like mildew. She wants nothing more than to sit by the fire and let her grandchildren play around her feet.
Bingham takes an army into Ulster to put down rebellion there. Fitzwilliam, the new lord deputy, considers any Scottish presence in the north as dangerous. Bingham orders that all Scottish gallowglasses are to be shot on sight.
Granuaile brought most of those men to Ireland in her galleys. She prays that she has not delivered them to their deaths.
While Bingham savages the north, his policies in Connacht are enforced by his sheriffs. Hangings, torture, unfair taxes, land seizures – they can only have one result. Connacht will rebel too.
‘So be it,’ says Granuaile grimly. ‘Let us see how many fires Richard Bingham can put out at once.’
On a bitterly cold January morning, signal fires blaze around the rim of Clew Bay. In his stronghold at Curraun, The Devil’s Hook makes preparations.
The English-born sheriff of Mayo, John Browne, has recently received a message from Richard Bingham, ordering him to take the notorious Granuaile into custody. The sheriff’s informers tell him that she is with her son-in-law on Achill Island.
But Granuaile has informers of her own. She knows Browne’s intention before he sets out from Galway. Quietly , in the night, she leaves Achill and returns to Rockfleet.
Next day the signal fires report Browne’s approach. The Devil’s Hook is waiting for him on Achill Island.
The sheriff and his men are slain on the strand at Curraun.
Their blood seeps into the soil of Ireland.
Chapter Thirty–Two
Nurse to all Rebellions
February, the Year of Our Lord 1589, Rockfleet
My dear Toby,
The rebellion I expected has begun. Almost every clan in Connacht is supplying warriors. If I were a little younger I would be in the forefront of the battle with a pistol in my hand. At least I can use my fleet as a weapon. My ships are transporting fighting men up and down the coast, wherever needed.
Examine your
Half buried in the sand, Granuaile finds an elegant dagger with fine gold wire wrapped around the hilt. It has just been uncovered by the receding tide. Granuaile stoops to pick it up. An officer’s weapon, most likely. For all its beauty, the weapon shows signs of hard use. When Granuaile holds the weapon up to the sun, the blade does not gleam. It is badly nicked and covered with dark stains. The stains are not rust.
The Spanish have given me something after all, she thinks. She thrusts the dagger into her belt.
Word comes from Ulster. Clan O’Donnell has rescued a number of Armada survivors from ships wrecked off the coast of Donegal. They have been fed and clothed, and their injuries tended. But they are not yet on their way home. The O’Donnell has surrendered thirty Spanish officers to the English, pleading for the release of Red Hugh in return.
Once again Elizabeth’s privy council refuses the request. They also replace Sir John Perrot with a new lord deputy for Ireland, a man called Sir William Fitzwilliam. He promises not to be so ‘generous’ with the Irish. Bingham’s way of dealing with them suits him very well.
Richard Bingham orders that any Spaniards caught on the west coast are to be hanged at Galway. So are those who give them shelter.
When she learns of this Granuaile goes to warn The Devil’s Hook, who has added the Spanish men he rescued to his own warrior band. ‘Bingham will kill you if he finds out,’ she tells her son-in-law.
‘He will find out nothing,’ The Devil’s Hook reassures her. ‘My people are totally loyal to me, as yours are to you. The Spaniards are safe with us. I can protect you as well. Why do you not stay here for a while and enjoy your grandchildren?’
The invitation is impossible to refuse. Granuaile feels old age creeping into her joints like mildew. She wants nothing more than to sit by the fire and let her grandchildren play around her feet.
Bingham takes an army into Ulster to put down rebellion there. Fitzwilliam, the new lord deputy, considers any Scottish presence in the north as dangerous. Bingham orders that all Scottish gallowglasses are to be shot on sight.
Granuaile brought most of those men to Ireland in her galleys. She prays that she has not delivered them to their deaths.
While Bingham savages the north, his policies in Connacht are enforced by his sheriffs. Hangings, torture, unfair taxes, land seizures – they can only have one result. Connacht will rebel too.
‘So be it,’ says Granuaile grimly. ‘Let us see how many fires Richard Bingham can put out at once.’
On a bitterly cold January morning, signal fires blaze around the rim of Clew Bay. In his stronghold at Curraun, The Devil’s Hook makes preparations.
The English-born sheriff of Mayo, John Browne, has recently received a message from Richard Bingham, ordering him to take the notorious Granuaile into custody. The sheriff’s informers tell him that she is with her son-in-law on Achill Island.
But Granuaile has informers of her own. She knows Browne’s intention before he sets out from Galway. Quietly , in the night, she leaves Achill and returns to Rockfleet.
Next day the signal fires report Browne’s approach. The Devil’s Hook is waiting for him on Achill Island.
The sheriff and his men are slain on the strand at Curraun.
Their blood seeps into the soil of Ireland.
Chapter Thirty–Two
Nurse to all Rebellions
February, the Year of Our Lord 1589, Rockfleet
My dear Toby,
The rebellion I expected has begun. Almost every clan in Connacht is supplying warriors. If I were a little younger I would be in the forefront of the battle with a pistol in my hand. At least I can use my fleet as a weapon. My ships are transporting fighting men up and down the coast, wherever needed.
Examine your
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