IRISH HEROINES TO CHOOSE FROM
HERE are some legendary female figures that could provide the inspiration for a Irish Disney princess.
GRACE O’MALLEY
Dubbed the pirate queen of Ireland, Grace O’Malley would make a swashbuckling Disney heroine. Born the only daughter of a chieftain in the early 1500s, Grace followed her father’s footsteps and ruled over the sea – turning to piracy when the British blocked her shipping routes.
She most famously reached a truce with Queen Elizabeth over the capture of her two sons – and gained the monarch’s respect by refusing to bow to her.
PRINCESS ISEULT
The love story between the Irish princess Iseult and the Cornish knight Tristan also ticks a lot of fairytale blockbuster boxes. A Disney retelling could begin with the star-crossed lovers meeting in unlikely circumstances – with Tristan bringing Iseult to marry his uncle in Cornwall.
Inevitably, the two fall in love leading to much drama and conflict – before the lovers eventually return to
Ireland where they live happily ever after.
SAINT BRIGID
Born enslaved and sold to a Druid, Brigid manages to win her freedom by converting him to Christianity. She faces adversity again, however, when her father tries to marry her off to the king of Ulster.
But, so impressed by her piety, the king once again frees her from parental control and grants her a plot of land to found a nunnery. Brigid’s other feats include restoring sight to the blind and changing water into beer – cementing her as an Irish legend.
QUEEN MAEVE
Warrior queen Maeve of Connaught disrupted gender norms whilst looking intoxicatingly beautiful – making her an ideal heroine for a 21st century Disney flick.
Known as one of the greatest fighters of her time, Maeve became the most powerful woman in Ireland.
In fact, her husband Aillil was only granted the privilege of her hand in marriage because he possessed the rare quality of being a man without jealousy.
MAUD GONNE
Maud Gonne could possess the unique title of Ireland’s first Republican princess – though she’d almost certainly be furious about it.
Actress, feminist and one of the founders of the original Sinn Féin, Maud first converted to republicanism after witnessing an eviction in the 1880s.
She was also a renowned beauty with many suitors who admired her revolutionary zeal – including, most famously, WB
Yeats.