Malahide Castle is outside Dublin (in Malahide), a short train ride away. Up until 1973 it was a private residence. The same family lived there from 1185, and it’s purportedly haunted. Sounds cool and it gets good reviews, but have to say: not impressed. On the tour you go thru a few rooms in the castle. They are full of great art and antiques, but it’s only a few rooms. Very clear that there’s a lot of the castle that you’re not seeing, and it’s one of those walk in the room and the description plays over a speaker. Audioguide without the headset. And not a lot of history provided.
I was expecting more. Or maybe after seeing Versailles, it just takes a lot to impress me. For the record, Malahide is now closed undergoing a 12M€ renovation. It will probably be 12 million times better when they are done. If I find myself in Dublin again, after it reopens, I might go, but it wouldn’t be very high my to-do list. You can read more about the renovations here.
As it was when we were there, not worth the price of admission. We had a much better time at the playground on the castle grounds. And that was free.
M O R E P H O T O S
From Malahide Castle. Shot October 26, 2011. Dublin, Ireland
M O R E P H O T O S
From Malahide playground. Shot October 26, 2011. Dublin, Ireland
