The Emerald Isle - Part 2

Good news and bad news: I finally figured out how I can upload pictures on this computer, bad newy - it takes FOREVER! Hence the 5 measly pictures I managed to add this time! They do give a nice sampling of the day trip we took from Dublin, and I promise to add more once I have full access to wifi on my beloved laptop again. That may just have to wait a few weeks. Stupid Blogger does not seem to want format properly for me today, so the photos are not in the order that I would like, but I suppose for now I shall have to make do. They are all labeled so at least you can tell what you're looking at. Taking pictures inside of Malahide was strictly prohibited, so although I was tempted, there aren't any pictures of that.

Okay so, our second day in Dublin we decided to do a bus tour to Malahide Castle and Howth. Howth is a tiny fishing village right on the coast with breathtaking views of the cliffs and the water and it was amazing. Malahide Castle is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in the world so far, it is an ancient Castle and was owned by the "Talbot" family for hundreds of years. The last decendant died in february of this year, which I think is simply incredible!

The following is courtesy of wikipedia, but the information is all acurate.

The estate began in 1185, when Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174, was granted the "lands and harbour of Malahide". The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century and it was home to the Talbot family for 791 years, from 1185 until 1976, the only exception being the period from 1649-1660, when Oliver Cromwell granted it to Miles Corbet after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland; Corbet was hanged following the demise of Cromwell, and the castle was restored to the Talbots. The building was notably enlarged in the reign of Edward IV, and the towers added in 1765.
The estate survived such losses as the Battle of the Boyne, when fourteen members of the owner's family sat down to breakfast in the Great Hall, and all were dead by evening, and the Penal Laws, even though the family remained Roman Catholic until 1774.
In the 1920s the private papers of James Boswell were discovered in the castle, and sold to American collector Ralph H. Isham by Boswell's great-great-grandson Lord Talbot of Malahide.
Malahide Castle and Demesne was eventually inherited by the seventh Baron Talbot and on his death in 1973, passed to his sister, Rose. In 1975, Rose sold the castle to the Irish State, partly to fund inheritance taxes.

The coast of Ireland as seen from Howth

Cliffs and coastline again

Close-up of Malahide Castle

Malahide Castle

Castle Grounds