Visit County Dublin for holiday in Ireland

COUNTY DUBLIN To the north of Dublin and sited on the coast near the town of the same name is Malahide Castle, home to the Talbot family for nearly 800 years, a feat unique in modern Irish history. Richard Talbot arrived in Ireland in 1174 as one of Henry II knights, and was granted the lands and the harbour of Malahide eleven years later. He soon set about building the castle, the Great Hall being one of the purest examples of Norman architecture in the country and houses centuries of family portraits. The original building has undergone a great deal of enlarging and embellishment over the centuries, with the circular towers flanking the facade being added in 1765. At the heart of the old castle is the Oak Room, which is approached by a winding staircase, and the room is lined from floor to ceiling with carved panels representing scenes from the scriptures, and some of the tableaux suggest that this room may have been used as a chapel when Catholicism was suppressed in the country. Malahide Castle, as one would expect from the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland, has an impressive collection of ghosts. The first being young Sir Walter Hussey who was cruelly killed on his wedding day defending the honour of his bride to be, and now spends his time wandering the castle uttering dreadful groans. The second is the bride to be herself who, having established a reputation as a bit of a man-eater during her life, is see pursuing her third husband, the third ghost, along the corridors. The fourth, and by far the grizzliest, is that of Miles Corbett, the Cromwellian who was given the castle and lands for his zeal in suppressing the Irish during the Commonwealth. On the restoration of the monarchy he was deprived of the property and made to pay the ultimate price for treason. He was hung, drawn and quartered, and his ghost now walks around in full Armour until he is stopped, and then falls apart into four pieces. There are various less ghoulish attractions in the castle grounds including a model railway and the usual craft shop, and you can be entertained to a full-scale banquet if you wish. In the castle grounds are some of the best gardens in the country, and lots of attractions to keep lively children entertained, and the village has a lovely sandy beach.

From Malahide marina you can take an amazing tour around Dublin Bay. This Sea Safari gives you the chance to take in the bird-life and marine-life of the bay. The company supplies you with two-piece suits and life jackets to keep out the worst of the weather and you are assured of a memorable trip. If you are looking for a holiday cottage in Malahide then there is some great accommodation to rent here by the sea.

Across Malahide Bay at Donabate is the lovely country estate of Newbridge House, a classic example of early Georgian design, and described as one of the most beautiful houses in the country. Built on the instruction of Archbishop Cobbe in 1736, the house has a valuable collection of original furniture, paintings and objets d'art, and the parkland is home to a farming museum, with original machinery from the 18th century.

The town of Howth, on a promontory at the mouth of Dublin Bay is a pretty fishing village and also a popular base for the sailing fraternity and for renting self-catering cottages for a holiday near Dublin. One of the most popular attractions is the circular cliff-top walk that starts and finishes at the DART terminus. As if the cliff-top views were not enough, those from the top of the lighthouse, halfway round, are superb. In the grounds of Howth Castle are three golf courses, one 18 hole, and two 9 hole. The castle is not open to the public at the moment but there is an unusual reason for the roads around it to be named after Grace O'Malley. This formidable woman lived in County Mayo in the 16th century and commanded her own private army and fleet, terrorizing local shipping and extorting money for pilotage. On a trip to east coast she stopped at Howth looking for a bed for the night in the castle only to be told that his Lordship was unavailable as he was eating his dinner. Enraged, the pirate princess kidnapped his son and only released him when she was assured that henceforth the doors to the castle would always be left open during mealtimes, a practice still maintained to this day. Close to the harbour are the ruins of the Abbey, which in medieval times had such a reputation for the brilliance of its monks that the University of Paris sent spies to entice the students away. The Abbot, forewarned, disguised some of his monks as dockworkers and as a result the spies left empty-handed saying that it was to bring offers of education to a place where even the dockers spoke Latin. The trip on the DART all the way to Bray, on the coast south of Dublin gives you a complete tour around the bay.

The first stop on the DART to the south of Dublin is the ferry port of Dun Laoghaire, the start of the first railway line in Ireland, and home to the National Maritime Museum. Because of the railway, the town became popular with the Victorians wanting to escape the bustle of the city, and Dun Laoghaire is to Victorian architecture what Dublin is to Georgian.

On your way to Bray, you can stop off at Sandycove and view the Martello tower, now known as the James Joyce Tower, that has become an object of pilgrimage for fans of Ulysses. Joyce spent a week in this granite fortification staying with his friend Oliver St John Gogerty and set the opening scenes of the book here, with Buck Mulligan [Gogerty] taking his morning shave on top of the tower. There are great views from the top there are enough bits of Joyce memorabilia in the small museum to make this an enjoyable detour. Renting a self-catering cottage in Bray is a convenient place to stay to explore the lovely countryside and easily visit Dublin, without paying the higher prices of city apartments.

If celebrity spotting is on you list of holiday activities the next stop on the DART is Killiney. This village has become the resort of choice for Dublin's rich and famous, and over the last ten years a succession of mansions have sprung up on the surrounding hillsides and the occupants range from rock stars to racing drivers, writers to T.V personalities. Up on Killiney Hill you can look down on the bay, which has been compared to the Bay of Naples, before taking part in some rock climbing, or if you have already reached the top, some abseiling. Holiday cottages in Killiney are very popular with Irish people as well as tourists coming from the UK and overseas.

Irish tourist information

Site map  |  Privacy  |  Advertise  |  Disclaimer

View self-catering holiday properties in Ireland online and contact Irish holiday home owners direct.

www.Holiday-Cottage-Ireland.com is part of the Which Cottage Group.

www.WhichCottage.com © 2006