Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley was formed in 1992 when fourteen women, active in the Tampa community, had a vision about forming an all female Krewe, as a social organization. Their inspiration being Grace O'Malley, a real female Irish pirate from the 16th century. Today with over 290 members strong, the Krewe participates in over seven parades, including Gasparilla, Sant'Yago Knight Parade, Rou
gh Riders St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Children's Parade, Springtime Tallahassee, and when possible, Chasco and Hernando DeSoto. The O'Malley's are the proud owners of two floats. The magnificent castle float is named after Grace O'Malley's own castle, ROCKFLEET. It sports an impressive moving seahorse on the front and can be seen at ALL parades. Grace was a pirate and sailed under the seahorse flag, Therefore, we have adopted the seahorse as our mascot. Our second float is a pirate ship and is titled “Grace, Queen of the Sea”. The O’Malley’s have a commanding appearance in the Gasparilla Parade with three floats and over 200 beautifully gowned members in the walking unit. Our Krewe gowns are our signature and are worn for parades, special events and appearances. The rich fabric gowns are modeled after 16th Century grand court gowns. We are known as "Ladies of Grace" in accordance with our costuming. Most members adorn more than one gown, many for each specific parade, as they take much pride in our ornate, period costuming. The O'Malley's established their motto as "Fun, Friendship and Frivolity" and it is the foundation of which this Krewe was built and still continues to live by within their daily organizational and community activities. The O'Malley (President) is installed in March and reigns through the following February. The Celebration Ball is a Grand Event and is one of the high points of the krewe year. Invitation to join the krewe is by the lottery system and new members must already be volunteers in the Tampa Bay community to be considered and accepted into Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley. To date, the O’Malleys support over 250 community and chartable organizations. Each year one of our deserving Ladies is chosen as our Angels of Grace recipient. This member will select the krewe sponsored charity and monitor the fund raising efforts for the year.
