Malahide Castle: An Elegant Home Near Dublin

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,” we visit a medieval fortification transformed into a manor of Georgian classicism.
Malahide Castle: An Elegant Home Near Dublin
Malahide’s main entrance is at the center of its protruding south wing, which has square towers at its corners. The four-story west wing on the left seems to guard over the remainder of the castle. Mixing similarity with slight asymmetry allows for aesthetically pleasing variety within a harmonious whole. Irene Fox/Shutterstock
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Dating in part from circa 1250 and remaining in the almost uninterrupted possession of the aristocratic Talbot family until 1976, Malahide Castle is among the oldest, most magnificent, and best-preserved structures of its kind in Ireland.

Like many castles of medieval origin, Malahide originated as a fortified stone tower. By around 1400, it had grown to a large rectangular keep, a castle’s strong inner fortification, which in time became the building’s four-story west wing.

James Baresel
James Baresel
Author
James Baresel is a freelance writer who has contributed to periodicals as varied as Fine Art Connoisseur, Military History, Claremont Review of Books, and New Eastern Europe.