Pirate Anne lives again!

A female pirate born in Kinsale in the 1600s has joined a crew of characters in a popular Caribbean children’s television show.

Anne Bonny was born in March 1698 and is widely regarded as the most well-known female pirate that ever lived.

She was born Anne Cormac to parents William Cormac, who was a lawyer and a merchant, and his servant Mary Brennan. After moving to America, the Cork native married James Bonny and relocated to Nassau in the Bahamas, a well-known sanctuary for pirates.

She soon left her husband, establishing herself amongst the pirates and eventually joining forces with the notorious Jack ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham with whom she would later have a child.

Historical accounts state that Bonny was captured alongside Rackham in Jamaica in 1720 and was sentenced to death. However, according to britanicca.com, she succeeded in “pleading the belly”, avoiding execution due to being pregnant at the time. What became of Bonny after that is unknown to this day with some accounts claiming that she was eventually released and lived to be more than 80 years old, dying in Charles Towne South Carolina.

The famous Cork pirate is now being portrayed in top-rated Caribbean children’s show Goombay Kids by Bahamian actress Madison Knowles.

‘The Goombay Kids’ version of Bonny is a bit more age appropriate, says show creator and producer Stephanie Nihon: “The show is entertaining but also very educational. Children in The Bahamas and Caribbean actually do have these pirates in their history books, there are pirate-themed attractions, and they pass by the actual sites where some of these pirates lived and operated.”

The episode introducing Bonny was filmed on Blackbeard’s Revenge Bahamas, a major tourist attraction and 500 tonne life-sized replica of the famed pirate ship sailing in the same harbour Anne Bonny and Blackbeard called home port. “In this episode, the lead cast members are transported back in time and are captured by Anne Bonny and Calico Jack,” explains Ms Nihon.

She adds: “Anne was a fearless pirate hailing from Ireland and a force of nature, who was uncontrollable and unapologetically passionate. She was only 17 when she was in New Providence but she stood her ground against the toughest of men.”

Now in its third season, ‘The Goombay Kids’ airs on OurTV in The Bahamas and streams on several internet platforms including YouTube. The show has been praised by The Bahamas Film Commission and is gaining interest to be aired in other countries.