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’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

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.