Call for new bank holiday to honour Mayo's pirate queen

MAYO performance company Circus250 have called for a new bank holiday in honour of Grace O’Malley, the pirate queen.

“We’ve only got one bank holiday named after a woman, and she was a saint,” says Circus250 director Dea Birkett. “We need to have a day named after a real woman from Connaught, in celebration of Ireland’s women and their strong heritage.”

There’s a revival of interest in the 16th century woman who fought for freedom for her family, her land and herself. A Hollywood movie on her life is going into production next year with rumours that Bridgerton and Derry Girls actress Nicola Coughlan may play the pirate queen.

On the weekend of May 22-24, Circus250 are staging the first Grace O’Malley Festival, including an aerial circus performance set on Grace’s galley, a talk by her biographer Anne Chamber and a concert by songstress Camille O’Sullivan. But the Achill-based company want the iconic queen of the west to be recognised nationally by a public holiday.

“It would be good to have a bank holiday around the Autumn Equinox in September,” said Dea. “A day of celebrating our heritage would be a welcome break before the darkness of winter sets in.”

Find out more about the festival at circus250.org.