This is a trip through 800 years of history. Learn about the Talbot family and the historical events that shaped their lives, explore the private rooms and furniture and art collections within the castle now owned by Fingal County Council and managed as a heritage attraction. View the 2022 conservation works to the Great Hall, the finest state room in the historic Castle building. These conservation works facilitated improved conditions and display of the important collection of artworks on loan from The National Gallery of Ireland.

King Henry II gifted Richard Talbot the lands and harbour of Malahide for his services to the crown in 1185. From that point on, the Talbot family became intertwined with Malahide’s history and development.
The original stronghold built on the lands was a wooden fortress but this was eventually superseded by a stone structure on the site of the current Malahide Castle. Over the centuries, rooms and fortifications were added, modified and strengthened until the castle took on its current form.
The Talbots are reputed to have been a diplomatic family and during the eight centuries between 1185 and the 1970s. The final Baron de Malahide, Lord Milo Talbot, lived in the castle until his death in 1973. His sister Rose inherited the estate and subsequently sold it to the Irish State in 1975.

Since then, Malahide Castle has continued to play an important part in Ireland’s political and social landscape, hosting international leaders and summits, and welcoming thousands of local and international visitors each year.

Pre-book only

The general tour will involve walking a no of stairs to reach upper levels and a spiral stairs with tapering threads

Audio guide