MALAHIDE CASTLE

'Malahide Castle', with over 260 acres of remaining estate parkland (the Malahide Demesne Regional Park), lies close to the village of Malahide, nine miles north of Dublin in Ireland.

Contents

History

Features

Visiting

Access

Points of note

Concert venue

See also

External links

History

The estate began in 1185, when Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174, was granted the "lands and harbour of Malahide". The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century and it was home to the Talbot family for 791 years, from 1185 until 1976, the only exception being the period from 1649-1660, when Oliver Cromwell granted it to Miles Corbet after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland; Corbet was hanged following the demise of Cromwell, and the castle was restored to the Talbots. The building was notably enlarged in the reign of Edward IV, and the towers added in 1765.
The estate survived such losses as the Battle of the Boyne, when fourteen members of the owner's family sat down to breakfast in the Great Hall, and all were dead by evening, and the Penal Laws, even though the family remained Roman Catholic until 1774.
Malahide Castle and Demesne was eventually inherited by the seventh Baron Talbot and on his death in 1973, passed to his sister, Rose. In 1975, Rose sold the castle to the Irish State, partly to fund inheritance taxes. Many of the contents, notably furnishings, of the castle, had been sold in advance, leading to considerable public controversy, but private and governmental parties were able to retrieve some.

Features

The two best-known rooms are the Great Hall, which displays Talbot family history, and the Oak Room.

Visiting

The Castle, along with its subsidiary attractions, is operated as a tourist attraction by Dublin Tourism, working with Fingal County Council, which oversees the Castle Demesne.
The main castle can be visited for a fee, on a guided-tour-only basis. In addition, it is possible to hire the famously gothic Great Hall for private banquets. The castle has an eating facility, and adjacent is a craft shop.
Separately, one can visit:

★ "Tara's Palace" (2007: fee, to childrens charities), a large Doll's House under construction since 1980, and drawing on several of Ireland's "great houses" for architecture and design, at 1/12 scale. This display, situated in the castle courtyard, is supported by classic dolls, toys and other dolls' houses, inclding one from 1700 and one from the family of Oscar Wilde's mother.

★ The Fry Model Railway (2007: fee applies), a large (2,500 sq. ft.) working miniature rail display, from the 1920's-1930's. The railway includes models of stations and Irish features.

★ The Talbot Botanic Gardens (2007: fee applies), situated behind the castle, comprising several hectares of plants and lawns, a walled garden of 1.6 hectares (2007: public access, Weds. only, groups by appointment) and seven glasshouses, including a Victorian period conservatory. Many plants from the southern hemisphere, notably Chile and Australia, are featured.
The demense is a rare example of a surviving 18th century landscape park, with wide lawns surrounded by a protective belt of trees. It can be visited freely, with a number of entrances and car parking areas. In addition to woodland walks, and a marked "exercise trail", the park features actively used sports grounds, including a cricket pitch and several football pitches, a 9-hole par-3 golf course, an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course, tennis courts and a boules area. There is also a modern children's playground near the castle.

Access

The main entrance to the Castle Demesne is off the Malahide Road, with access also possible from Malahide Village. Dublin Bus route number 42 travels along one side of the park, and Malahide Railway Station is near the castle end of the park.

Points of note

In the 1920s the private papers of James Boswell were discovered in the castle, and sold to American collector Ralph H. Isham by Boswell's great-great-grandson Lord Talbot of Malahide.

Concert venue

The castle grounds are to be used for a number of concerts during the summer of 2007, including Arctic Monkeys and Pink. Malahide Castle is seen as a northside venue to rival Marlay Park on the southside of the county. The following is a list of preformances:

★ 2007:Arctic Monkeys, Pink, Bell X1, Lovebox Dublin.

See also

★ Baron Talbot of Malahide

★ Thomas Talbot

External links

★ Malahide Castle

★ Malahide Community Internet Site