MALAHIDE CASTLE AND THE TALBOT FAMILY

By Tom O’Shea

Table of Contents
1. The Talbot Home 2. The Talbot Family 3. Wogan Connection 4. Commercial Development 5. Change of Religion 6. Talbots Abroad	7. Lambay Island 8. Local Involvement 9. Boswell Papers 10.Castle Ghosts 11.Blimps 12.The Abbey	13.Sheela-na-Gig 14.Abbey Graveyard 15.Family Lifestyle 16.Castle Gardens 18.Malahide Castle To-day

Introduction

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When one considers the fact that Malahide's first speculative housing estate was only built in l964 and what was a 'fifties village has become a large 21st Century town, it is rather difficult to assess the massive local changes that have occurred over the years. How did Malahide Village come into being? It’s not unusual for a village to develop around a great house or castle and Malahide is no exception. The Talbot story is a long one especially when one recalls that the Talbots are mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086. Incidentally this book is a record of lands in England in the reign of William I and records mills, live stock, produce etc. Since 1171, 30 individual Talbots ruled at Malahide, dating from the first Lord Richard Talbot, who died in 1193 to the present day Hon. Rose Maude Talbot, who now lives in Tasmania. Lord Milo Talbot died in 1973 and the Castle and 268 acre demesne were pur­chased by Dublin County Council. This was one of the largest purchases made by a local authority in Ireland and the land was designated for amenity and sporting purposes. Hopefully, over the following pages, we will cover the important happenings in the lives of many of the 30 Malahide Talbots.
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The Talbot Home

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When the first lord Richard Talbot came to Malahide in 1170, his family were also lords of Shrewsbury in England. This was in the reign of Henry II. Talbot’s lordship of Malahide was confirmed by the King's son, Prince John, who subsequently became King of England. Also confirmed on Richard was the Advowson for the Church of Malahide and when he died in 1193, he presented his brother, Walter Talbot with that benefice. Where did the Talbots live when they first came to Malahide? Through the local historical society's research, it seems highly probable that they lived at Wheatfield, opposite the Community School. Here stands today the remains of a Motte and Bailey in an excellent state of preservation. It must be realized that in those very early days the Talbot estate extended to over 600 acres. The Motte and Bailey is a distinctive Norman trademark and, of course, the Talbots were originally Normans from France. This home would have been quite extensive containing stables, barns, work­shops as well as a wooded home all protected by a stockaded ditch. There is no exact date as to when the Talbots moved to the site of the present day castle. The earliest portion of the present day castle is a keep-like tower of three storeys which dates to the fourteenth century.

Within this tower a circular stair­case remains. We can assume that the first edifice to appear on the present site would have been around 1250.

We know that the Talbots founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Templeogue in 1259 and in 1262 Richard Talbot was Archbishop of Dublin.

By 1330, the family established themselves in about half the counties of Leinster, were Members of Parliament, County Sheriffs and were entrusted with the defense of many English garrison towns. So it is fair to assume that by 1350, Malahide Castle was a structure of some importance. The earliest reference available is at the top of a Patent granted by Edward IV to Sir Thomas Talbot in 1486 where a sketch of a castle exists.

A manuscript of the early sixteenth century lists the Castles and Garrisons of County Dublin and it includes Malahide and Belgard Castles.

There is also written evidence in existence today of repairs carried out between 1605 and 1609. The Down Survey of 1657 gives an important reference to the Castle and its 605 acres when it was owned by "John Talbot of Malahide, Irish Papist". Accompanied by a sketch, it is described as "a good stone house and orchards and gardens and many ash trees with other houses in good repair".

It is difficult to visualize today that the castle was once surrounded by a fortified wall with front and back gates. There are recorded references to the gate of the wall being forced by Wicklow raiders in 1534. This outer protective wall had a ditch, the very evident depression in the field south of the front door marks the site of this old wall and ditch. Over the years the wall was allowed to run into disrepair and was used as a quarry whenever stones were required. The stones were used for the walls of the garden, stables and farm buildings. A story goes that some of the Dublin Garrison assisted Myles Corbet's relations in an attempt to recapture Malahide Castle and besieged the wall with cannon. A cannonball was found imbedded in the wall in 1798 which leads credence to this story. The old tower in the garden would have formed part of the wall fortifications and has been used as a detached post to cover some farm buildings. Twenty years ago, it was used as an apple loft. The remains of the original ditch can still be seen running parallel to the railway.

The Castle was at one time called the "Court" and was originally square.

By 1640, Malahide Castle was gaining in prominence. It was attacked by Cromwell in 1641, after he had sacked Drogheda. When the Castle surrendered, it was immediately seized on by Corbet for his own residence, being as he observed, "the strong­est Castle in the neighbourhood of Dublin". He lived in the Castle at a yearly rent of £50, until Charles II was restored to the Throne. Besides the outer wall, the Castle was also protected by a moat. This is clearly evident today if one looks to the left as the front door of the Castle is approached. The dried-up moat is perfectly obvious if one visits Malahide Gardens and views the Castle from the south­west extremity. Prior to the moat being filled in and planted with flowers and evergreens, the Castle must have presented a magnificent appear­ance with its drawbridge, portcullis and barbican. The present portcullis at the rear of the castle is only an imitation. When Sir John and Lady Catherine Talbot returned to Malahide at the Restoration, "the first act of this spir­ited lady was to order the demolition of the outworks and defences of the castle, alleging that her son and heir, Richard, that she was resolved Malahide should never again serve as a stronghold to invite the residence of an usurper". The usurpers, of course, were Cromwell and Corbet who took over the Castle when John Talbot was banished to Connaught during the Cromwellian Plantation. In the 1650's the Castle must have been in poor condition, as the original application for a grant of £50, made by Myles Corbet states: "It is an Irish Castle. I find it ruinous and must spend £500 on its repairs". Around 1700, Malahide Castle received a new lease of life and many structural changes took place. Two towers were added and many of the windows enlarged. The Great Hall was the first room to be renovated, and, needless to say, it required renovation as it dates back to 1475. It has been re-roofed and re-windowed, but its walls and supporting stone-vaulted undercroft are in their original form. The Hall measures 42' by 22' and is overlooked by a Minstrel's Gal­lery. In the years between 1765 and 1782, the west wing of the Castle was completely reconstructed after a fire, and the present Drawing Rooms were added. Prior to the fire, the two drawing rooms were divided into four rooms by tapestry hangings, a most unusual feature to have four rooms with no doors. At this time, also, alterations were made to the bedrooms and several floors and ceilings were raised. Off the drawing rooms two circular turret rooms were added and the North wing of the Castle developed. There is an area of mystery about the Oak Room as there is no record of the insertion of the oak paneling. Originally, the inner por­tions of this room would have been the principle room of the ancient tower house. There is a tradition in the Castle which states that one of the Talbots was warned in a dream that he must build a votive chamber "garnished with ivory pillars". Ivory, however was hard to get and expensive, so he put in oak columns, painted white, saying, "The Blessed Virgin will never notice the difference". However, after some time, he was unable to bear the sight of these "candles”, as he called them, and had them painted black. Today the Oak Room is one of the finest examples of a 16th century pannelled room, with the walls overlaid with richly carved oak, highlighted by a set of six very fine carved panels depicting incidents from Biblical stories. The Oak Room was enlarged to the South by Colonel R.W. Talbot in 1820, when he added on the Entrance Porch and the two small squared towers. Originally, there was no entrance on the south side, but there was a shell-lined grotto there. There used to be a statue of Edward IV over the original doorway but it seems to have disappeared dur­ing the 1820 renovations. The library and the rooms above and below were originally separate from the rest of the building. They are said to have been built by a "Mr. Talbot, who came over from Wales, meaning to leave his property to the family as his nearest heirs. But, in consequence of a quarrel which took place between the servants of the two families, he went back to Wales".

When the vaults on the ground floor were converted into the cellar by the 4th Baron, a doorway from the yard was closed and a horse's skull was found embed­ded in the floor, which looks as if horses had at one time been kept there.

The Castle was let for the Summer of 1825 to the Marquess of Wellesley, but that was the only time it was voluntarily let out.

So, one can see the huge changes brought in Malahide Castle, over the centuries. Today it is a square, castellated building with circular towers flanking the corners. The old moat has been drained, but like that of the Tower of London, not completely filled up. The declevities of the original wall and ditch now constitute steep banks of greenest verdure, planted, in places, with shrubs that love the shelter.

The lodges and gateways have been changed and improved over the years. Many trees had to be felled to give these buildings a finer aspect. The Dublin approach to Malahide, used by vehicles, passed in front of the Castle until the 5th Baron, wishing to avoid the expense of keeping it up as a carriageway, turned it into a walk. The public road was then changed to it’s present route, west of the castle.

Facing the 1990's, the Castle serves as an oasis in the midst of urban development. In a sense, it is a time-machine to whisk locals and foreigners back into historic days of old. Luckily, it is the aim of Dublin Tourism to pre­serve one of Irelands most historically important castles and to keep it open to the public.

Next, some insights will be given into the Talbot Family, who lived in Malahide for 800 years.
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The Talbot Family

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So far, the history of Malahide Castle was looked at solely from the architectural viewpoint and the changing structure of the building was quite evident, over the centuries. Next we will deal with the human habitation of this fine building, and bricks and mortar will give way to human endeavour and enterprise.

The Talbots came from France to England and then to Ireland to make Malahide their home for 800 years. Their French ancestors were Barons of Cleuville in Normandy. Their name was Tailbois or Talebot. In 1066 Hugh and Richard Talebot were with Wil­liam the Conqueror on his invasion of England. They received land in Herefordshire and afterwards spread to other parts of England and Wales. They retained their connections with France, however, and Richard’s son was Governor of Plessy in 1118. When his wife died, he became a monk at Beaubec there, thus foreshadowing in a small way the greater connections of his descendents with the Church afterwards, when several of this family were Bishops in Ireland.

Malahide had been a Viking settlement before the arrival of the Normans and the last Norse King of Dublin was forced to retreat to the Grange when the Normans arrived. Aerial photographs show dearly the crop marks west of Bloomfield, where the King, Hamund MacTurkill spent his last days at his ring forts.

In 1184,Richard Talbot was granted the Lordship of Malahide from Henry II (1154~1189), while the rest of Leinster was granted to Strongbow.

Chevalier Talbot received his lands by rendering to the King "one archer with a horse and coat-of-mail forever". Richard died in 1193 and was succeeded by his son Reginald who was a minor at the time of his father’s death. At this very early stage of the family dynasty, the Talbots came close to losing their estates. Being a minor, the wardship of the property became vested in the Crown. However, Henry de Fondres, Archbishop of Dublin, acting as Justiciary, appointed a clerk to the benefice in right of the King, as set forth in an ancient Inquisition. The Crown now took proceedings to protect the family estates against the encroachments of the Archbishop of Dublin, and when Reginald died without heir, he was succeeded by his younger brother and heir, Adam. This, indeed, was only the beginning of many a dispute between Church and Crown which haunted the Talbot family over the centuries.

Next in line, in Malahide, was Richard Fitz Adam Talbot and his land was settled on him by Edward I in 1286 and when he died, his son, Sir Milo Talbot took over. He was succeeded by another Sir Richard, who was the associate in arms of Sir John Bermingham. He married Margared de Ashbourne. He was sixth of the thirty Talbots to control the Malahide estates during their 800 year tenure, and, already, the family name, Richard, is beginning to predominate.

The Talbots are always reputed to have been a highly diplomatic family and steered a very safe course between the obstacles of Church and Crown domination. In 1259, they founded a monastery of the Holy Trinity at Templeogue and Richard was Archbishop of Dublin in 1262.

Sir Thomas Talbot born in 1328 later married Agnes Kenewrich and he was succeeded by his son Sir Richard Talbot who became Sheriff of County Dublin. By now, the family had established themselves in about half the counties of Leinster, were members of Parliament, County Sheriffs and were entrusted with the defence of many English Garrison Towns, such as Kilkenny, Arklow, Newcastle etc. They weren't always successful, as Richard, along with 200 other nobles were slain by the people of Louth in 1329.

The Talbots had by now acquired their coat of arms. This custom had its origins in the Crusades. Knights, whether in battle or jousting, were clad from head to foot in armour, and, so some means of identification of fighting men became necessary. So it was, that brightly coloured patterns and emblems began to make their appearance on shields and great coats -hence, the term "coat-of-arms" and horsetrappings. The two outstanding features of the Talbot crest are the lion and the hound. The lion motif, shows the family’s Welsh connections and the Earl of Shrewsbury was referred to as "Talbott our Goode Dogge”. The poet Chaucer called his dog Talbot. The family motto is Forte-et-Fidele - Brave and Faithful - which would appear to refer to the lion and hound respectively.

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During the 14th century, the family kept up their associations with their ancient holdings in England and France and took part in the English and French wars up to the time of the expulsion of the English from France. One great member of the family was Sir John Talbot, known as Lord Furnival who defended the English pale for six years, with little resources against the O'Byrnes, the O’Tooles and the O'Nolans. It was said that he struck terror into the Irish Chiefs largely by his personal presence. His mode of government was praised to the King. When recalled, he went with the English army to France about 1420 and fought with distinction there under two kings and rose to command the whole English army. An interesting fact is that he was defeated at the Battle of Patay by Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. He was captured and imprisoned by the French 'till 1433. Released after the martyrdom of the French girl, he again took up his mili­tary duties and was made a Marshal of France in 1441. He became Earl of Shrewsbury, Wexford and Waterford and was literally loaded with titles. He became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. But enough wasn't enough for Lord Fumival. In 1452, he again returned to France, but his star had set. He was defeated and slain at Chastil­ion. His body was brought home and buried at Whitechurch. His son was killed with him. He was referred to, by historians, as the 'Terror of the French'. His brother Richard Talbot was Archbishop of Dublin in 1443. Books have been written about Talbots exploits and his name became a household word, in England, France and Ireland. It is said that French women, to frighten their children, would tell them that "the Talbot cometh". Talbot’s death ended English hopes of domin­ion in France. One hundred and fifty years after his death, Shakespeare, introduced Talbot into his play, Henry VI, which must ensure him immor­tality, to some extent.

To return to more mundane topics, the next Malahide Talbot was a Thomas Talbot, who, again was a minor, on his fathers death. He was succeeded by Christopher Talbot who died in minority, and the Lordship developed on his great-uncle, Lord Thomas Talbot, who was next succeeded by Richard, forever associated with Maud Plunkett, the "Maid, wife and widow" on the same day.

By now, the family was becoming closely associated with the Irish, through marriage, and, on occasions, "becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves".

Maud Plunkett, whose tomb stands in the ruins of Malahide Abbey is well remembered because of Gerald Grif­fins Ballad, "The Bridal of Malahide".

'The Joy bells are ringing
In sweet Malahide
The fresh wind is singing
Along the seaside". etc.

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There are twenty verses which tell Maud's story. She was the daughter of the Baron of Killeen and she mar­ried Thomas Hussey, Baron of Galtrim, in Co. Meath, on Whit Monday 1429. He was killed in a local skirmish, at Ballbriggan some hours after the marriage ceremony and, so, she became "maid, wife and widow" on her wedding day. Sir Richard Talbot was her second husband and that's why she lies buried in Malahide Abbey. She outlived Talbot, too and married a third time, this time her choice was John Cornwalsh, Chief Baron of the Kingdom of Ireland. "In those warlike days, pretty girls had to steel their hearts against disappointments and sudden deaths", so said the Daily Sketch of 1930, when relating her story. She outlived her third husband also, and ended her days happily receiving dowers from all three dead husbands. After many years of widowhood she died, leaving the son of her second marriage to Richard Talbot, Lord of the Manor of Malahide. Her effigy is on her monument where she sleeps peacefully beside many a member of the Talbot family.

Maud Plunket’s son, Lord Thomas Talbot had a patent of privileges con­ferred on him by the Crown on the 15th November, 1459 as "Thomas Talbot. Armiger, Dominus de Malahide. He was married twice to Miss Sommerton and Elizabeth Buckley. Here, the family tree becomes somewhat complicated as there are two families, one from each marriage to follow. However, it is best to pay more attention to those who held control in Malahide Castle. Sir Peter Talbot took over at Malahide and he married a Catherine Fitzgerald. They had four children, Thomas, Walter, William and Margaret.

Foreign fields were still claiming the attention of the Malahide Talbots and they took part in the War of the Roses in England. Another son of Lord Furnival was killed fighting for the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Lancaster 1460 and a third son, Sir Christopher died on the same field. There are many written references to the family's bravery and honour in the field of war.

Sir Peter Talbot was succeeded by Sir Thomas and he, in turn by Lord William, who became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. His son, Patrick was succeeded by Lord Richard Talbot who was born in November 1583 and who took over Malahide at the age of 11 years and 3 months. After succeed­ing to his estates he incurred the tyrannous jealousy of Lord Stafford, Lord lieutenant of Ireland, who tried to take the Admiralty of the Port of Malahide and other valuable rights from him. Talbot, on pleading the ancient charters of hereditary line, persuaded the court to give judgment against the Crown. Lord Richard executed a settlement of his Lordships of Malahide, Garristown and the Louth Estates on his eldest son, John. It must be remembered that, at this time, Malahide was one of the chief ports of Ireland and Dublin was extremely jealous of its status. His son, John, however, inherited even greater problems as Cromwell was about to enter the scene.

Lord Thomas' second marriage to Elizabeth Buckley, produced four sons, John, Richard, Thomas and William. William had five sons, two of whom certainly left their mark on Irish history. Most Rev. Peter Talbot SJ. and Richard Talbot, Earl and Duke of Tyrconnell. Both of their stories should suffice to complete this part of the Talbot Story.

Inside Saint Sylvester’s Church in Malahide is a plaque to the memory of Most Rev. Peter Talbot R.C. Arch­bishop of Dublin 1671-80. Dr. Peter Talbot was a Jesuit who studied in Portugal and then travelled through Belgium, settling in Antwerp. It was he who received King Charles II into the Catholic Church in 1656. Charles married Princess Catherine of Portugal and Dr. Talbot, with his fluent knowledge of Portuguese, was appointed domestic chaplain to the King. When Talbot became Archbishop of Dublin, Blessed Oliver Plunkett, a kinsman of his, was Primate of Armagh. A dispute arose between them as to whether Armagh or Dublin should be the Ecclesiastical Centre for Ireland. Eventually, the Pope had to intervene as arbitrator and he ruled in favour of Armagh. Refusing to be reconciled with his brother bishop, Dr. Talbot left Ireland in 1674 and settled in France. Old and sick, he returned to Ireland but in 1678, he was arrested in Malahide and charged with complicity in the Titus Oates Plot.

He was imprisoned in Dublin Castle as also was Dr. Oliver Plunkett some time later. In 1680, on hearing of Talbot’s condition Plunkett escaped his guards to give the last rites to Talbot and, so, as history records, Dublin died in the arms of Armagh.

Today, in the Great Hall of Malahide Castle, hangs Jan Wyck's Canvas of the Battle of the Boyne, 1690. 14 members of the Talbot family breakfasted in this hall on the morning of the battle, but not a single one returned when it was over. This brings us to handsome Dick Talbot, the first Duke of Tyrconnell, who ruled Ireland for King James previous to the coming of William of Orange. His job was to organise Ireland to help James win back the throne. Richard was born in 1630. By patent, dated the 2Oth of June 1685, he was created Baron of Talbotstown, Co. Wicklow, Viscount of Baltinglass and Earl of Tyrconnell. On the 2Oth of March 1689, he was advanced to the dignity of Marquis and Duke of Tyrconnell by James II and, eventually became Chief Governor of Ireland. He was captured at the siege of Derry and another Talbot Brigadier Mark Talbot was captured at the Battle of Aughrim. It was Richard’s wife who was supposed to have met James on his flight from the Battle of the Boyne (1690). James is reported to have said "the rascally Irish have run away from me" and, she replied "your majesty has won the race" It is highly doubtful if the story is true. James certainly left the Boyne early, but he was never a coward.

Some say he supped with Fagan of Feltrim. Others say he stopped in Malahide Castle, at the invitation of Lady Talbot, reputed to have been a great beauty, and a sister of the Duchess of Marlboro. She survived her husband, lived to be 92, and established a nunnery for the Poor Clares Order in Dublin.

Lord Richard Talbot, born in 1668 lived to be 100 years old. He was the perfect specimen of the Pale gentleman. It has been said of him that he was “exclusive in his attitude, preserved his own language and customs and, even his own costumes”.
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Wogan Connection

He died without issue and his brother, John, in 1735 married Frances, daughter and heiress of Col .Nicholas Wogan, of Rathcoffy. This marriage introduced the Wogan element into the Talbot line, and, from that date onwards, the Wogan name figures prominently in Talbot records. His son, Lord Richard Talbot was born in 1735 and became the 22nd incumbent of the Malahide Estates. In 1765 he married Margaret O’ReiIly at Aux La Chapelle and neither family approved of the marriage. It was not the fashion of the day for a member of the English Pale to marry into an Irish family. Besides that, his wife was his third cousin. At any rate, external objections to the wedding didn’t put a damper on their married bliss. They had sixteen children, eight sons and eight daughters. Margaret O'Reilly became Baroness of Malahide in 1831.

Links to Wogan genealogy sites: http://www.wogan.info/ -the site home page, http://www.wogan.info/earlybranches.htm - the introduction to all the early branches of the family and from which a search can be performed for any particular indivividual and http://www.wogan.info/ancient/rathcoffy/index.htm - the home page of the Rathcoffey branch.

How was Malahide influenced by the Talbot family during the eighteenth century? The West Wing of the Castle was destroyed by fire, but being the great Dublin Georgian period, not alone were restorations made but the estate was reconstructed to what it is today and the Drawing-Rooms were added. When the Baroness came to Malahide, the two Drawing-Rooms were divided into four rooms by tapestry hangings. Great changes took place between 1765 and 1788. Bedrooms were altered to their present shape and floors and ceilings were raised. However, it was in the commercial enterprise which emanated from the Castle, that the Malahide locals were more interested.
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Commercial Development

In 1783 Col. Richard Talbot set up a mill at Yellow Walls, adjacent to Malahide. He borrowed £2,000 from the Government for his enterprise venture. The remains of the mill are to be seen today at Barrack Bridge, on Yellow Walls Road, which indeed received its name from the yellow dye strains left on the walls when the materials were placed on them, to dry in the sun. This mill must have been highly successful when one realises that in a map of 1756 Yellow Walls had only six buildings. By 1800, when the mill failed, because of Parliamentary changes, the tiny Yellow Walls village had grown enormously and was bigger than Malahide itself.

In 1788, the same Talbot petitioned Parliament for powers to construct a canal from Malahide, through Swords, to Fieldstown. His ambition was to transport cheaply to Co. Meath, the various goods which arrived by boat in Malahide harbour. Unfortunately, he died before he could realise his dream. One can only wonder what his proposed canal would be used for today? The man was obviously an entrepreneur before his time, as he was willing to finance the canal undertaking himself.

In 1803, the Talbots established a bank in Malahide, and it issued 25,000 banknotes for the denomination three shillings and nine and a half pence. It later became known as the Silver Bank.

When the Talbot family was raised to the Peerage in 1831, and Margaret became Baroness, Malahide was only a hamlet. It contained a population of 1225 and there were 217 habitable houses in it. Of 237 families, Catholics were in the proportion of 4 to 1. The majority of wage-earners earned their living by fishing, others by home industry and some were employed to look after the Castle and Estate. The population didn’t really grow until the Railway came in 1844.
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Change of Religion

The Baroness had a large family and some of them certainly left their imprint in history. Her son, Lord Richard Wogan Talbot, became Sec­ond Baron of Malahide. In 1839 he was created a Peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Furnival, but that title became extinct with him. Three other members of her family are well remembered. Her daughter Gabriella Talbot became Countess the Austrian Empire and Chanieness of the Royal Order of St. Anne of Bavaria. She was her only child not to change the faith. She died on the 28th April, 1850. It must be remembered, of course, that the Talbots were Catholics up to the time of the Baroness.

Two of her sons led interesting lives. Sir John Talbot, G.C.B. joined the Kings Navy and rose to the rank of Admiral of the Red. He entered the Navy as Captain’s Servant and as Midshipman under Captain Horatio Nelson. He spent 63 years in the Navy and saw action on 14 different warships. He must have met up with many a Dublin man at time as it was reported that sixty per cent of the Navy was Irish. .JohnTalbot captained the Eurydice and took many ‘prizes’ in his day. He was wounded while Captain of the Victorious and on his return to London was presented with a Gold Medal for his bravery. He was very well thought of in Naval circles and must have seen little of Malahide during his long arduous, but rewarding career.
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Talbots Abroad

His brother, Thomas is better known in Ontario, Canada than he is in Ireland. He supervised and ruled, with an iron hand, the settlement of townships stretching along the North shore of Lake Erie. He was offered a grant of five thousand acres of land and he founded the towns of Port Talbot and Port Stanley. He even began to build the costal road known as the Talbot Road. Described by his compatriots, as gruff, disrespectful of religion, indifferent to politics, a heavy drinker and a Yankee-hater Talbot never-the-less commanded respect and was in no small way responsible for the development of the region. He built a large log-house 150 feet above Lake Erie and named it “Malahide”, after his ancestral home. Here he entertained many distinguished visitors from home and abroad. At his home, he also had his well-known "audience" window through which he interviewed his applicants for land.

Thomas was quite an eccentric and ran into many financial difficulties, despite the huge demesne he con­trolled. He died in London, Ontario, in 1853 when he was 82 years old. What remained of his property valued at £50,000, he left to his servant, George MacBeth.

There are three Malahides! One in Dublin, one in Canada, as we have just seen, and the third is in Tasmania. Here, the homestead, “Malahide”, was built in 1827-28. To add too that, it is situated in an area called Fingal and that name was given to it by James Grant in 1821. Tasmania, off Australia, was originally known as Van Diemen’s Land. In 1822 a grant of land was made to Hon. William Talbot in the area of Fingal, Tasmania and, so, our third Malahide came into existence. Wool from the Malahide and neighbouring Fingal Valleys consistently commanded world record prices and Tasmanian Malahide wool has a world-wide reputation.

But why did the Malahide Talbots spread their tentacles so far and wide over the world, at this particular time in history? There are possibly two reasons. Firstly, it was the great age of travel, exploration and discovery when young men went abroad to seek their fortunes and, secondly, it must be remembered that the Talbot broth­ers were members of a very large family and not being immediate heirs to land at home would have found little in Ireland, or, indeed, England, to occupy their time.

At any rate, Col. William Talbot came into possession of 21,000 acres with 23 miles frontage on the river Esk in Tasmania. One can imagine what the fishing rights alone were worth. He cleared the land and established the biggest and finest sheep station in Tasmania. He also called his home "Malahide", and it is still known by that name today. A large white marble monument bearing the Talbot Arms, stands in memory of William, who died, a bachelor, on 22nd Decem­ber, 1845. The inscription reads “To the memory of Honble. William Talbot, sixth son of Baroness Talbot de Malahide, and brother of Lord Talbot de Malahide, who departed this life on the 22nd December, 1845, deeply regretted by his numerous friends and relatives”. The last remaining member of the Malahide Talbots, the Hon. Rose Talbot, died in Tasmania on 14 February 2009.
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Lambay Island

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Meanwhile, back to Malahide, Co. Dublin. The Talbots purchased Lambay Island in 1814. An unusual event took place in 1860 when the the island residents were replaced by English and Scots tenants and the island was developed into hunting and shooting grounds for their friends and visitors. However, this venture didn't prove to be successful and, after some years, they reverted to farming. Unfortunately, by displacing the residents, many Lambay traditions and much local folklore has been lost. After 40 years on the Island, the Talbots sold Lambay to Count Considine in 1888. (For more detailed information on Lambay Island see the “Lambay” page in this site.)
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Local Involvement

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In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Talbots were involved in many national and local issues:- In 1779, Captain Richard Talbot led 150 Volunteers to parade outside the House of Parliament; in 1786, the same man was responsible for road-widening, erecting turnpike gates and recovering tolls between Dublin and Malahide; in 1832, the resident Lord Talbot subscribed £100 towards the building of St. Andrew's Church; "on Monday 15th March, 1844, the first engine of the Dublin-Drogheda Line left Dublin at 11.23 a.m. precisely. The engine, called the Moira Creina, pulling seven coaches, carrying 565 passengers, including the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and his entourage, halted at Malahide to allow the Talbot family to embark. The train reached Drogheda at 1.01, having travelled approximately 30 miles in 98 minutes"; in 1854, the Talbots provided food and shelter for those unfortunates who were shipwrecked off the John Tayleur on Lambay Island; in 1861, Lord Talbot provided the site for Malahide Cricket Club, in 1892, Lord Talbot who was first president of Malahide Golf Club and, in 1909 he provided a site for the erection of Malahide Carnegie Library. The family later provided the land for Malahide Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the centre of the village. The last male Talbot, Lord Milo Talbot, provided Malahide Yacht Club and Malahide Sea Scouts with their land adjoining the tennis club in what was formerly the “pleasure gardens” or “band gardens”, so called because military and police bands played there during regattas in the 1850’s to 1880’s.

The Second Baron of Malahide was succeeded by his brother, Lord James Talbot, Third Baron, who had five sons and four daughters. The Fourth Baron, also a Lord James Talbot was a Lord-in-waiting to her Majesty, Queen Victoria. He was also president of the Royal Irish Academy. He was created a Peer in the U.K. as Baron Talbot de Malahide on the 9th November, 1856. He died in 1883. A brother of his, The Right Rev. Monsignor George Talbot, was Cannon of St. Peters and Chamberlain to Pope Pius IV. Next in line came Richard Wogan Talbot, Fifth Baron of Malahide (Ireland), and Second Baron Talbot de Malahide UK.).
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The Boswell Papers

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To complete the Malahide Castle story, the Boswell papers should supply the perfect ending.

The Fifth Baron of Malahide mar­ried Emily, great granddaughter of James Boswell, the biographer of Dr. Johnson. When Emily died, however, Talbot inherited the Boswell home in Auchinleck in Scotland. When the house was sold, its contents were transferred to Malahide Castle in 1905 and 1914. As part of the house contents came a Flemish ebony cabinet, since known as the James Boswell Cabinet and this turned out to be the most illustrious piece of furniture connected with the literary world. Incidentally, the Cabinet, empty, of course, was sold at the Malahide Castle Auction in May 1976 for £7,500. When the Cabinet arrived in Malahide it contained the Boswell Papers, which are the largest and most important find of English literary manuscripts made. They, not only enormously enrich our knowledge of James Boswell, but also add much about Johnson and his circle, about Boswell’s other contemporaries, and about life and events in the whole second half of the eighteenth century. In 1920, Professor Chauncey B. Jinker of Yale put a notice in the Times that he was planning an edition of Boswell's letters and hoped that owners of letters would communicate with him. A postcard from Dublin signed with an illegible name told him to try Malahide Castle, but a letter to Lord Talbot didn't receive a positive response. In 1925, Professor Jinker tried again and this time visited the Castle. Lord Talbot refused him permission to publish the manuscripts as he considered that many of Boswell's Papers were of a "rather delicate nature". Word was now out, and Dr. A. S. W. Rosenback, sight unseen offered £50,000 for the contents of the Cabinet, and was in­dignantly refused.

In 1927 Lt.Col. Ralph H. Isham, an American collector of eighteenth century rarities, visited Malahide, and with extraordinary diplomacy arranged for the purchase of the Boswell Papers.

In 1930 a box supposed to contain croquet equipment was unearthed in a cupboard at Malahide Castle, and in it, an additional lot of manuscripts was found and purchased by Colonel Isham.

In 1937, during a search in the Castle, Isham himself, found some more Boswell Papers, but it didn't end at that. After the outbreak of war in 1939, one of the outbuildings at Malahide Castle was turned over to the Malahide Parish Council for the storage of grain reserves for the village. In a loft, filled with old furniture from Auchinleck was found a very large additional cache of papers which Col. Isham also arranged to purchase.

Still, the fantastic story was not complete. It was known that Lord Talbot, who died in 1948 had retained one important manuscript. When Isham purchased this in June 1950 he also received with it a number of additional papers previously over­looked. Yale University is today the centre of Boswell Scholarship, the repository of the Malahide Papers. Malahide's Literary find has found a new home as, indeed, has the Boswell Ebony Cabinet, which for many years helped to enhance the Castle Oak Room.

But there is still much to tell as there are many interesting tales concerning the Castle Ghosts, the Ma­lahide Blimps. Malahide Abbey, Graveyard and Sheela-na-Gig. The latter day members of the Talbot family also call for some attention.

The twentieth century had now been reached: The 27th incumbent of the Malahide Estates was Lord Richard Wogan Talbot, who died in 1921. He was succeeded by the 6th Baron, Lord James Boswell Talbot who died in 1948. The last Lord Talbot of Malahide, Lord Milo John Reginald Talbot was born in 1912 and died in 1973, thus ending an 800-year dynasty in Malahide.
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Castle Ghosts

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Ghosts and Castles are synonymous us, and Malahide Castle has its fair share of ghostly traditions. Puck, at one time, was the resident caretaker. He was four foot tall and bearded, and his main function was to keep watch and sound the alarm in case of attack He lived in a turret of the Castle, now known as Puck's Staircase, where he carried out his duties as watchman in the most dedicated manner. Indeed, he was the most orderly of individuals and always kept his turret very clean and tidy. He was somewhat of a recluse and his food used to be left outside his door each night at sundown. Every morning the empty trays and plates, spotlessly clean, would be in the same spot awaiting collection. Then, out of the blue, for some unknown reason he hanged himself from the Minstrel's Gallery, overlooking the Great Hall. But that wasn’t the end of Puck His ghost has appeared on many occasions since. His dwarfish figure has appeared in photographs taken in the Great Hall. Even in external photographs of the Castle, his wrinkled impish face has appeared through the ivy covering of his turret. Many a Talbot family letter makes reference to his ghostly return. Some of the latter Talbots believed that he was still doing his duties as a sentry, centuries after his unfortunate departure. About thirty years ago, before the Castle was open to the public, an occasional guided tour used to take place. On nearing the area of Puck’s Staircase, the lady guide used to always ask her visitors to “please, stand aside, make way for Puck”. After a moment of silence, the tour would continue, but in a subdued fashion. Puck’s last appearance was in 1976. A member of Sotheby’s staff was sitting in the Great Hall, itemising material for the pend­ing auction, when he swears that Puck appeared on his staircase. Without any prior knowledge he described Puck as he had been known to genera­tions of Talbots.

For many years, the painting of a very beautiful anonymous lady, in a flowing white dress, hung in the Great Hall of the Castle. Nobody appeared to know her identity or the identity of the artist who portrayed her. It had been recorded that from time to time she would leave her painting and wander through the Castle in the quiet of the night. Reputed to have been seen by a number of people, over a period of many years, she has become known as the White Lady.

A curious legend exists regarding the carved chimneypiece in the Oak Room of the Castle. It is sculptured to represent the ascent of the Coronation of the Virgin. When Cromwell was in power in Ireland, he put Miles Corbet in charge of Malahide Castle. During his tenancy, the figure of the Virgin disappeared from the carved chim­ney piece which continued to remain blank until Corbet's departure. Then the Virgin miraculously resumed her place in the sculptured setting, where it may still be seen today.

The same Miles Corbet is associ­ated with another of the Castle's ghostly stories. Miles was one of the signatories to the death warrant of King Charles I. Tradition has it that he suffered from insomnia while resident at Malahide and his conscience forced him to spend his sleepless nights riding a grey horse around the Castle grounds. Thus originated the story of the Pooka. Local tradition claims that the area known as the Back Road today was once known as Corbet's Ride. Here, they say that on the 19th April, the anniversary of Corbet’s death, can be heard, if not seen, the ghost of Miles, on his galloping Pooka.

In the Castle grounds is a field called Our Lady’s Acre, which is also reputed not to be immune to ghostly meanderings. On a few occasions two grey-haired, sad-faced ladies have been seen, wandering aimlessly. Nobody knows the reasons for their sojourn. Some sources suggest that they are ghosts of Danish women who never found rest when the Norman Talbot drove the Danes from Malahide.

There are other supernatural mani­festations and apparitions associated with Malahide Castle, but they are poorly documented. Suffice it to say, as befits the oldest inhabited Castle in Ireland, Malahide has its fair share of spectres.
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Blimps

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From the Twilight Zone, it is now time to turn to the stark reality of the 1914 –‘18 First World War. Here too, Malahide Castle played its part. Dur­ing the latter part of the War, airships, which used to patrol the Chan­nel, were stationed and moored in Malahide Castle grounds. Those S.S.Z. airships rendered good service in 1917 and 1918. The S.S. stood for Sea Scout class and they were nicknamed Blimps. They had a normal flight duration of about seven hours but often stayed aloft for twelve or twenty four hours. The specification of a blimp gives the following information.; Volume: 70,000 cu. Ft.; Length; 143 ft.; Diameter 32 ft.; Engine; One 75 h.p. Rolls Royce Hawk; Useful Load: -­ 7,775 lbs. Maximum Speed; 48.4 m.p.h.; Cruising Speed; 34.5 m.p.h. The Blimp was made of fabric reinforced with rubber. The inside pressure was maintained by means of two air-filled ballonets. It seated, from front to rear the wireless operator, the pilot and a mechanic. The armament was a Lewis machinegun. The bomb load normally comprised three 100 lb. bombs. In the course of the whole war, blimps spotted a total of forty-nine enemy submarines and were responsible for goodly number of them being sunk. When patrol was finished and the blimps returned to Malahide Castle grounds at night. It took between twenty and thirty men to haul them down and to tether them among the trees. Today, clearly visible in the Castle grounds are the large anchor rings, set in heavy slabs of concrete.

A major wartime sea tragedy was closely related to the Malahide Castle blimps. On the 9th October, 1918; a Blimp returning to the Castle Moor­ing Station got itself entangled in the nearby trees and was partially wrecked. On the following day, the 10th October, the RMS Leinster now unescorted because of the wrecked Malahide blimp, left Dun Laoghaire for Holyhead with 687 passengers and a crew of 70. It was torpedoed by a German submarine, 16 miles from Dun Laoghaire and sank in ten minutes. Five hundred and one lives were lost ant there were two hundred and fifty six survivors.
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The Abbey

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It would be impossible to cover the story of Malahide Castle without paying due attention to the Malahide Abbey. There is no doubt that there was a church in Malahide when the Talbots first settled here, as King John granted the advowson to Richard Talbot in 1193. The existing Abbey ruin is of a considerably later date. Malahide’s first church, St. Fenivus, would most likely have been situated on the present Abbey site as the first road to traverse Malahide came through Feltrim, along the back road, through Baldoyle to Howth.

The Talbots built their Castle close to St. Fenivus as they realised the church s temporal value as an aid to legislation. Being staunch Catholics, they developed the church and extended it until it became one of the finest and largest of all Fingal churches. The present day ruins show that it must have been a parochial church of no mean preten­sions as to the size and architectural adornment.

The plan of this building consists of a chancel and nave, the former lying due east and being somewhat thirty feet long. The east wall of the chancel contains the remains of a really fine three-light window. There are also two small lancet windows in the north wall and one in the south. Across the building is a beautiful chancel arch, lofty, pointed, and exceedingly graceful in outline. The Church nave appears to be of a later date, being more ornate in design. The west gable is surmounted by a curious three-arched bell turret. The Trinity Bells of the Abbey would have required a gift of rhythm and a knowledge of music, and tested the player’s talents in bell ringing. The bells had no tongues so one or more bell-ringers would have stood or sat underneath and struck the bells with a hammer. A series of steps led to the belfry. The entrance doorways to the Abbey are set one precisely opposite the other, in the north and south walls. They are arched, pointed and about seven feet in height. In the south-east corner of the chancel is a small pointed door which leads into a curious two storeyed building about twelve feet square and of a much later date than the Church, which it adjoins. Possibly, it was a sacristy or it may have been the residence of a clergyman. It contains a fireplace and three small windows.

Within the Church is the tomb of Maud Plunkett, the “maid, wife and widow all in one day’; whose story has already been related. Her tomb is surmounted by a recumbent effigy of Lady Maud, very well carved in bold relief, representing her as wearing the curious horned cap which was so favourite an article of feminine attire in the sixteenth century. Maud’s tomb used to be nearly flush in the ground but was raised to its present height by the fourth Baron Talbot. Unfortunately, today, the tomb is in a sad state of disrepair.

Malahide Abbey contains many items of interest, other than the Talbot family vault and the Maud Plunkett tomb. The dripstone of the southern Abbey door is surmounted by a curiously mitred head and at one side of the door is a stoup or holy water font. The stoop is deeply scoured with ruts, scrapes and scratches. There is a possibility that at one time a red sand­stone torso may have surrounded the water font at the gentlemen at arms would have thrust their swords through the figure thus causing the scratch marks. This action would have been as a defiant symbolic gesture against the suppressor of the old faith.
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Sheela-na-Gig

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Sheela-na-Gig figures are grotesque monuments and carvings usually associated with old churches and castles, dating back to the Celtic period. Built into the north-east angle of the Abbey chancel is a eight-century red sandstone figure measuring 19” x 10”. A second stone of similar material and style of workmanship, measuring 10” x 10, is built into the south-east edge of the gable. The composition of the larger Sheela-na-Gig is unusually crude. The abnormally large and shapeless head, the short neck and squashed body, and the very inadequate legs suggest a caricature. While the battered nose is due mainly to weathering, the curious downcast eyes and the drooping gash of a mouth in a flat putty like face are typical of a certain class of pre-Norman native sculpture. The figure fills the frame formed by the uncut edge of the stone and, is, apparently seated. The fingers of the left hand rest on one knee, the other hand is not discernible.

Like most other Sheela-na-Gig, the Malahide stone-carved figure is female, hence the belief that it belongs to an ancient fertility cult. On the other hand, their association with early churches is undeniable and in explanation of this the theory has been advanced that the Sheelas were set up as warnings to the faithful of the horrible results of sin and excess.

A dating anywhere between the eight and the twelfth centuries is possible for the Sheela-na Gigs. The Malahide Sheela could quite easily be as old as the eight century A.D.

In the second Sheela, at the other end of the Abbey, the facial features are better defined. The mouth is open, the tongue protruding slightly, and the jaws sharply defined. Obviously both Sheela-na-Gigs are the work of the same craftsman.

Gable-lidded coffins were much in vogue in England and Ireland in the seventeenth century. Malahide Abbey contains a fine example of a gable-lidded stone coffin or mortuary chest.

The Sarcophagus is now minus its gilded brass escutcheons or name plates, which were originally set in the recesses of both sides of the gable-lid. This, of course, hinders the quest for the identity of the deceased, which more than likely would have been a pre1649 member of the Talbot Family. The coffin may have been dis­turbed during the Cromwellian occu­pation of the Castle and treasure-hunting Parliamentarian troops would have used the coffin lead-liner to make bullets. At any rate, the existence of the gable lidded mortuary chest is an added incentive for the preservation and refurbishment of Malahide Abbey.

Malahide Abbey would have been at the height of its glory in the early fifteen hundreds. The winds of change began too blow in 1535 and the Reformation and Henry VIII brought havoc to Catholic Churches throughout Ireland. There were two options now open to the Abbey, either to close down or to be converted to Protestant use. The death knell had rung and the recusants or those who refused to take the Protestant Oath, failed to turn up for service at the Abbey. By 1630 according to Arch Bishop Berkeley’s Report, “Malahide Church and Chancel ruinous”. This is hardly sur­prising, as Malahide Catholics, deprived of their church, would hardly be expected to keep it in repair for the benefit of those of another creed.

Whatever chance the Abbey had of making a recovery was finally dashed in 1649, with the arrival of Cromwell. The story goes that Cromwell’s troops desecrated the Abbey and stripped the lead from its roof in order to make bullets. The sacred aisles now became stables for the Cromwellian horses. From this date onwards, the Abbey never recovered its former glory.
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Abbey Graveyard

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The fact that the Graveyard ex­isted alongside the Abbey is proof that it served as a typical parish church in its day. Indeed, certain Malahide families still have the right to be buried there. In 1873 the then Lord Talbot thought the burial ground made the Castle unhealthy and tried to close it to the public. He succeeded, however, only in having a limit to put to the number that could be buried there yearly. The whole unsavoury episode was an unfortunate business and stirred up a lot of local bad feeling, without any good results.

The Talbot Family vault hasn’t been used for near two hundred years and the latter day Talbots have been buried in St. Andrews' Churchyard on Church Road. The last Lord Talbot was keen on the preservation of Malahide Abbey and had the ivy removed from its walls in the initial steps of refurbishment. Today, unfortunately, both the Abbey and Graveyard are in a very neglected state and feebly claimed to be saved. An effort, similar to that at St. Doulough's, is urgently required.

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As we near the end of the Talbot story, three areas will be cov­ered, namely, Talbot Family Lifestyle over the last century, the Castle Gardens and Malahide Castle in the 1990's.
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FAMILY LIFESTYLE

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In 1871, Isabel Blake Humphrey married John Gurney a member of a banking family, known today as Barclay's Bank. John died in 1887, leaving Isabel with seven children. Some years later, Richard Wogan, 5th Baron Talbot de Malahide, a widower, met Isabel at a dinner party in London. They were married at St. Peters Church, Eaton Square on the tenth of December 1901. Richard already had a son, James, by his marriage to Emily, the great granddaughter of James Boswell. After a honeymoon in Italy Lord and Lady Talbot returned to Malahide in 1902, to a tremendous welcome and a band playing "Come Back To Erin". The Castle now became the focal point for Lady Talbot's hectic activities. For some years prior to this Lord Talbot used to stay in the Grand Hotel on occasions when he returned from his travels. He was, of course, Malahide Golf Club's first President. Keenly interested in the development of Malahide, he wrote to Balrothery Rural District Council in 1905 saying that he was prepared to take out a lease of a plot of ground next to the teahouse for the purpose of establishing a free library therein. The Carnegie Library is the end result of this letter.

On her arrival in Malahide, Isabel immediately set about putting the Castle in order. She certainly didn't lack experience as she had already entertained the Royalty when she was married to John Gurney, who was Mayor of Norwich. She had converted Norwich Castle into a Museum and was known as the "Uncrowned Queen" of Norwich.

Between 1902 and 1921, Lady Talbot involved herself in innumer­able local activities. She worked on a committee with Canon Lindsay and Fr. Mulcahy to open the new library in Malahide; she became head of the Dublin Red Cross; she was President of the Mother's Union; she was deeply involved in the Irish Distressed La­dies' Fund, Homes for Children and the movement for providing District Nurses throughout Ireland.

It was during this period that the Garden Book was started and every plant was noted in minute detail. The garden was her constant joy and delight, especially the smaller garden known as the Ladies Garden or the Mary Garden. She was forever com­paring her garden with that of Lady Ardilaun's in St. Anne's, Raheny. It has been said of Isabel that while she may spend ten minutes choosing a hat, she would spend four hours weeding a flowerbed.

However, her activities didn't deter her from travelling. In 1903, they travelled throughout Europe; 1904, America; 1905, Egypt; 1908, Canada; 1910, New York and 1911, a world tour, which included China, Japan, Honolulu and America.

Isabel was an artist in water-col­ours and oils and an authoress of two books, namely "Foundations of National Glory" and 'Golden Opportunities". The first was a selection of her many addresses and in the latter she says that the first requisite of a mother is love, the second, patience, and third, hope. She was very interested in the education of sons and daughters and explained her thoughts in maxims for mothers.

Everybody agreed that during her sojourn in Malahide Castle an atmos­phere of serenity and harmony always prevailed. She loved to sing and play the piano and two of her favourite tunes were "Down by the Swanee River" and "The Old Folks at Home". Admittedly the latter song seems highly inappropriate considering the amount of travel she did. House parties were regularly held during Horse Show Week or Punchestown Races and Isabel liked to entertain. On one such occasion, the food arrived half-cooked on her table. It transpired that the cook had drunk the spirits which should have gone into the pudding and the kitchen-maid had cooked the dinner. The butler explained the situ­ation to Lord and Lady Talbot the following morning when he said, "The cook was as drunk as a Lord, m'Lord."

Lady Talbot drove a Siddeley Wolseley 20 h.p. and travelled the country in it, whether she was giving a talk on gardens, attending a meeting or just going to a tennis match at the Plunketts in Portmarnock. On January 1st 1920, she was created a Dame of the Order of the British Empire.

Lord Talbot died on the 4th March 1921 and was succeeded by his son James, as the sixth Lord Talbot of Malahide. Sometime later, Isabel moved to 38, Buckingham Palace Mansions, near Victoria Station, Lon­don. She returned to Malahide a few times and finally left it in August 1924. In that same year, James Boswell Talbot married Joyce Kerr and from then on Isabel called herself Isabel, Lady Talbot de Malahide. Isabel died on February 22nd, 1932 at the age of 81, and a memorial service was held for her at St. Andrew’s Church, Ma­lahide.

Isabel is well remembered in Red Cross Circles. In her day she raised substantial sums of money by sales at the Castle. Her presence at meetings always seemed to smooth difficulties and people used to say: - "As long as Lady Talbot is present everything goes smoothly".

Lord Talbot had two brothers, Reginald, a barrister and Milo, a Colonel in the Royal Engineers. Milo mar­ried Eva, daughter of Colonel John Joicey, M.P. and had two children, Milo and Rose. However, it was his son James, who now succeeded his father as the Sixth Lord Talbot de Malahide.

James was born on 18th May, 1874 and was Lord of Malahide from 1921 until his death on 22nd August, 1948. Life at the Castle was no less hectic during Jame’s time than it had been during his father’s. In 1924, James married Miss Joyce Kerr, an actress, in St. Peters Church, Tickencote, Rutlandshire, England. When they returned to Malahide, a hearty welcome awaited them at the railway station, where the horses were unyoked from the carriage which was then drawn by local residents to Malahide Castle. The route to the Castle was decorated with bunting. At the Castle door, Mr. James Stack on half of the people of Malahide, extended a hearty welcome to the bride and bridegroom and read an address of congratulations. The new Lady Talbot made a contribution towards a special fund for the Roman Catholic Church and she, in turn, was presented with a bouquet of carnations by John Park, a descendant of Mungo Park, the explorer. The procession to the Castle had been headed by the Yellow Walls Band. The welcome home party continued long into the night with a fireworks display and no shortage of food and drink in the marquees specially erected for the occasion. Six barrels of porter were available on the Village Green and the whole village was en fete to such an extent that somebody forgot to turn the taps off and porter flowed freely on the Green.

Life soon returned to normal and Joyce Kerr settled into the Irish lifes­tyle. While James was interested in fishing, Joyce's great interest was horseracing. They acquired a prize-winning herd of Jersey cattle and the rich milk was sold to Bewleys Cafes. The Castle grounds had a somewhat different appearance in the thirties. The main entrance was across from McAllister's Garage while to day's main entrance was then just a mud-track, known as Bullock Lane. Lady Talbot had a summer house in Mountshannon where she also had a boat. The Castle’s staff regularly spent their summers there.

As would befit the Castle’s natural country setting, by sheer coincidence, many of the staff had nature-orientated names. At one time, the staff surnames included Eagle, Sparrow, Fox, Wolfe, Hay and Grouse.

During the Second World War, Lady Talbot had part of the Castle prepared for an emergency with iron beds, bandages and food all at the ready. At Christmas 1941, she presented a number of trees to Malahide Parish Council, to augment the diminishing supplies of the Timber Committee. In all, fourteen tons of timber was cut and distributed to 116 families. She also purchased and stored six tons of flower and arrangements were made for the storage of 35 barrels of wheat and ten tons of sugar. Thirty-eight plots of one eighth of an acre were organised and plot-holders were supplied with free seeds. She even supplied £5 for the purchase of artificial manure. Lady Talbot was Vice-President of Malahide Parish Council and was also instrumental in establishing a Malahide Branch of the Red Cross. She provided the branch with an ambulance which she had earlier received as a gift from Messrs McAllister Bros. for her own private hospital.

Lord Talbot’s involvement was very evident on St. Patrick’s Day 1942. Malahide organised a Big Parade to demonstrate the effort of a County Dublin Parish in local and civil defence. On that day the newly acquired Red Cross dressing station and post were formally declared open by Lord and Lady Talbot.

Some years after James' death in 1948, Joyce Kerr married again and lost the title of Lady Talbot. On the death of her second husband, she retrieved the title. She died in a Sussex nursing home in 1980, at the age of eighty-three.

As James had no issue, he was succeeded by his cousin Lord Milo John Reginald Talbot, 7th Baron (Irl.) and 4th Baron (U.K.). Milo was 36 years of age when he took control at Malahide. He spent most of his life in the British Diplomatic Service and held important positions such as Chief of the Foreign Office Security Department, British Envoy to Laos and British Ambassador to Vietnam. He was interested in farming and farmed a 120 acre sea-side farm at Robswalls in Malahide. He employed 17 Malahide people, fulltime and they serviced the garden, castle and farms. He used his farm to carry out experiments, in conjunction with the Agricultural Institute, Kinsealy.

For sometime prior to his death, he was involved in negotiations with the Malahide and District Residents Association regarding the creation of a recreational area and community site. There were plans to develop eighteen acres on the Coast Road into something like Fairview Park. Lord Talbot was against breaking up the Demesne and offered the Association £20,000 towards an alternative site for a recreational centre. His sudden death in 1973 ended the negotiations. Lord Milo has left behind him one most valuable abiding memory and, when all other memories are dulled by time, his famous Castle Gardens should live on and on.
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THE CASTLE GARDENS

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Lord Milo's epitaph reads:- "He was a good and generous friend". There are many Malahide people today who would certainly vouch for these sentiments. The Castle Gardens are tan­gible evidence of a man devoted to horticultural pursuits.

The earliest walled garden was formed in the late seventeenth century. It was in front of the Barbican Gate Tower, which dates to the 14th century. In front of the tower, a sunken oval pond of generous proportions offers an effective setting for a collection of water-lillies. A weeping willow embellishes the scene. Remnants of the old garden still exist in the­ Haggard, The Fresco Wall and the Chicken Yard.

The Gardens, as we know them to day cover an area of about twenty acres and were largely created between 1942 and 1973 by Lord Milo. In all, there are in excess of 5,000 different species and varieties of plants present. The present day Garden is, in effect, a small botanic garden.

Milo, Lord Talbot de Malahide, was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable Irish gardener of his time. If the word "fanatic" didn't have derogatory connotations, you could certainly apply it to Milo. With evil-smelling heaters as company, he spent many a cold frosty night alone with his plants. To build up his plant collection, Lord Talbot journeyed extensively abroad. In the 'sixties he visited Australia, Ethiopia, Chile, Kashmir, Mexico, Afghanistan and Nepal. He was soon operating one of the largest private botanical networks in the world connecting such places as Yalta, US.S.R., Zagreb, Yugoslavia and Nanking in China. For the botanist, the Talbot Garden Books make most interesting reading. In the 1973 book there is a record of two plants from seeds which Khruschev had originally given to the King of Sweden and which had been planted in the Botanical Garden of Gotenburg. When a bushfire wiped out all traces of a particular plant in Tasmania, Lord Talbot came to the rescue and gave back to Tasmania plants raised from seed which he had collected in 1964.

The fact that Malahide lies in the driest part of Ireland proved to be a pitfall rather than an asset to Lord Talbot, and the choice of plants in the Castle Garden is also limited by the alkalinity of the soil. Nevertheless, it has been found that an astonishingly wide range of plants appear to grow happily in the Malahide conditions.

Lord Talbots greatest contribution to botany was perhaps the financing of Dr. Curtis's "The endemic flora of Tasmania", illustrated by Margaret Jones. Four volumes were completed before his death, and the publication of the remaining two volumes was continued by his sister, the Hon. Rose Talbot, as a memorial to him.

The Gardens at Malahide Castle may not make a huge visual impact on the visitor unless that visitor is a collector who is excited by the rarity of many of the 5,000 plus species of plants. Today, the Gardens, which are open to the public, continue to be a place of pilgrimage for garden lov­ers and botanists from all over the world.
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MALAHIDE CASTLE TO-DAY

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To finish this final episode of the Talbot story it is a worthwhile exercise to take a last look at Malahide Castle, in the 1990’s.

In 1976, Dublin County Council purchased Malahide Castle and its 268 acre Demesne, including the world famous gardens. In it’s day this was one of the largest purchases made by a local authority in Ireland. Dublin County Council entered into an agreement with Dublin Tourism and Ireland East Tourism to manage the Castle. The aim of the project was to preserve one of Ireland's most historic Castles, open to the public and display the National Portrait Collection in an appropriate setting. It’s intention also was to collect, preserve and display a collection of Irish Period Furniture. Those objectives have been achieved and the Demesne has been developed as a Regional Park.

In the Castle, the visitor may enjoy The Oak Room, an outstanding ex­ample of a 16th century richly carved oak panelled room. The Irish Oak is of the same Oak as was used by King William Rufus to roof Westminster Hall many years ago. The Great Hall, overlooked by a Minstral’s Gallery was built by Thomas Talbot in l487and is a medieval room retaining its original features. The Library is a room chiefly remarkable for its painted and guilt leather wall covering. The Drawing Rooms were constructed between 1765 and 1782 and are painted a wonderful Malahide orange terracotta colour, which acts as a magnificent foil for the gilt framed paintings. Off the Drawing Rooms are two circular turret rooms, ideal settings for the collection of pastels of Irish families by Hugh Douglas Hamilton. The bedrooms contain four-­poster beds and many interesting boudoir items.

Though the 1976 Castle auction caused the dispersal of some wonderful pieces of Irish furniture, the vast majority of the Talbot hereditary collection still remains to be enjoyed to day. From the Guild Chair and Hall lantem to the Booker Mirror and 18th Century Peat Buckets, the Castle is rich In Irish furniture. The beautiful inlaid marble table in the Drawing Room was made by the Italian craftsman Pietro Bossi circa 1780. He lived in Ireland until 1798 but, unfortunately he never passed his skill on to anybody else and so this form of inlaying died with him. His motto was:- “One God, One Bossi". A fine collection of Irish sidetables and Chippendale Chairs are to be seen. Guilltwood Mirrors help to embellish the lacquered tables, wine coolers and wall sconces. Though the Albert Durer Altar-Piece, which belonged to the ill­fated Mary Queen of Scots and said to have been purchased by Charles II for £2,000, may be gone and the handsomely carved chair, once the property of Robert Bruce no longer to be seen, yet much remains to delight the visitor.

Malahide Castle is the ideal setting for our National Portrait Collection. Before the auction, the National Gallery was able to reach agreement to purchase thirty-one family portraits thus preserving as a unit Malahide Castle’s most representative family collection of Irish Jacobite Portraits. This collection has been added to since 1976. One painting, in particular, which always catches the attention of the visitor is Van Wyck’s painting of the Battle of the Boyne in the Great Hall. The paintings not only reflect members of the Talbot family but also the O’Neills of Killyleagh, the O’Reillys of Ballinlough, the Nugents of Delvin, and various other families with whom they inter-married together with some of their descendants down to the present day. In general, the paintings in Malahide Castle create a panorama of Irish life over the last few centuries and constitute a colourful pageant of Irish history. Hours of enjoyment may be had in viewing the portraits of such well-known Irish personalities as Henry Grattan, Patrick Sarsfield, Wolfe Tone, Jonathan Swift and Da­niel O’Connell. A fine military painting represents the Battle of Ballinahinch which was fought in 1798. Other portraits calling for attention include: Self-Portrait by Nathaniel Hone the Elder, a Dublin founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768; James Gandon 1743-1823, architect of the Custom House and Four Courts; William Osborne's Ward Hunt, painted in 1873, depicting Ireland’s most famous stag hunt where each person can be identified, and Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnel, who was King James’s Commander at the Boyne.

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What more can be said about the Talbot family and Malahide Castle? I think the closing words are best left to that eminent historian, John D’Alton, who, writing in 1838, summed up the achievements of the Talbot family, with the following:- "The illustrious achievements of this family are traced in the history of every civilised nation, and every where attach to them the reverence justly conceeded to a long line of ancestry, unsullied by the crimes that too frequently stain the annals of contemporaneous houses. Even in the political vicissitudes of these countries, the Talbots have survived, both in England and Ireland, in Baronial rank, for upwards of seven centuries and neither treason nor attainders have even clouded their splendour.”

I’m sure nothing has happened since 1838 to change D’Altons sentiments. Indeed, his words echo as true today as they did one hundred and fifty years ago.

END

Reminiscences

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