Irish-born Grace O'Malley (a.1530-1603) is one of the most famous pirates of all time. She is the subject of folk songs and sea shanties, a Broadway musical was made in her honor, and a castle in Ireland still bears her name. From the age of fourteen, she forged a career in seafaring and piracy and was considered a fierce leader at sea and a shrewd politician on land. Yet, little is known about Grace's exciting face-to-face confrontation with her nemesis, Elizabeth I of England.

In this program, Author Robin Maxwell recounts that scene and others from her novel The Wild Irish and explains her process of discovering Grace O'Malley and writing the book.