Malahide Castle

Southwest of the town of Malahide stands Malahide Castle, which from the 13th C. to 1975 was owned and occupied by the Talbot family and now belongs to the city of Dublin. Much rebuilt and altered in the course of its history, it shows a variety of architectural styles - medieval, Georgian and modern. The Great Hall with its oak roof is the only one in Ireland to have preserved its medieval aspect and to have continued (until 1975) to serve its original purpose. The castle now houses the National Portrait Gallery, a branch of the National Gallery in Dublin. The pictures in this collection are of interest either for the artist (William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, etc.) or the sitter (Anne Boleyn, Robert Dudley, James Gandon, Jonathan Swift, Daniel O'Connell, etc.).