The Dubliner’s Dublin – Malahide

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH various bits of Swords, Darndale and Balgriffin that estate agents try to flog as Malahide. Househunters take note: the Malahide Road means the road heading in the direction of Malahide. And it’s a very long road. The attraction of this dormitory town, still known by locals as “the village,” is its proximity to the city centre, the airport and the coast.

NEIGHBOURS This magnet for rich, balding people boasts property-owners like Larry Mullen and The Edge. Budding musos Ronan Keating and Nicky Byrne also live there, while Delorentos’ Ró Yourell didn’t have to travel far to support the Arctic Monkeys in Malahide Castle. Local rockers Director seem destined for big things. From the media there’s NewsTalk CEO Elaine Geraghty, RTÉ’s director of communications Bride Rosney and Cliff Taylor, editor of the Sunday Business Post. Actor Brendan Gleeson is a local lad.

HISTORY Mullach Íde—the sandhills of the Hydes—refers to a Norman family from nearby Donabate. Recent excavations found traces of a settlement dating back to 6000BC. In the 12th Century the Normans installed Sir Richard Talbot as Lord of Malahide Estate, a dynasty that lasted until the death of Milo Talbot in 1973. In the 18th Century, Malahide was a thriving industrial centre: silk and cotton mills, salt works... and cod liver oil. With the arrival of the railway, it became a tourist resort and residential town.

BEST KEPT SECRET Few visitors to the castle venture into the wonderful Talbot Botanic Gardens. Planted by Milo de Talbot to showcase his collection of rare Australian and New Zealand plants, it is a national treasure. Lord Talbot had estates in Tasmania and found cunning ways to adapt his own damp estate to the requirements of antipodean flora. The four acres are home to acacia, eucalyptus, euphorbia, escallonia and pittosporum, which nestle alongside rare alpine plants.

PROPERTY The first housing estate, Ard-Na-Mara, was built in 1964. A millionaire’s row, the Abington development, was launched in 2002; at the time it boasted the most expensive new homes in Ireland. Ronan Keating and Nicky Byrne each paid €2.4 million for four-bedroom pads. Cecelia Ahern lives at nearby Abbott’s Hill. Stephen Rea, Larry Mullen and The Edge own properties in the Marina Village.
SCHOOLS Malahide Community School caters for 1,200 secondary students. Little ones can choose between Pope John Paul II National School, St Andrew’s National School, St Oliver Plunkett School and St Sylvester’s Infant School. TD Darragh O’Brien was educated at PJP’s and Malahide Community School. Belcamp College, where Brendan Gleeson taught back in the day, closed recently. Its grounds were sold for fancy new developments such as the aggressively-promoted Belmayne.

RESTAURANTS Plenty to choose from, few stand out. Cruzzo in Malahide Marina has the best views. Oliver Dunne, previously of Mint in Ranelagh, is now cooking at Bon Appetit on St James Terrace. Bring a full wallet. For Eastern cuisine try Siam Thai, Jaipur or Silks.

ENTERTAINMENT Malahide castle has recently played host to the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Pink. Groove Armada headlined the inaugural Dublin Lovebox Festival in July. Gibneys’ Comedy Club – on the last Thursday of every month – packs them in. Those with an outdoors-ier bent can try a Sea Safari adventure eco-tour. Or just join the hordes of American tourists visiting the castle.

BARS AND PUBS Gibneys has traded since 1937 and has all the charm you’d expect from a village pub. Originally the back yard contained an apple garden and a pungent piggery, but it’s now a magnate for the beautiful people of NoCoDu. Smyth’s on New Street dates back to the 1800s: today it has an American theme with a bar menu to match. Brendan Gleeson reputedly plays the fiddle on Thursdays in Duffy’s on Main Street.

GREEN SPACE Malahide Demesne covers an area of 109 hectares and was owned by the Talbot family until 1975, when it was sold to Dublin County Council to cover insurmountable debts. It’s a rare example of a surviving 18th-century landscaped park, with wide lawns surrounded by a protective belt of trees. There’s a cricket pitch, several football pitches, a nine-hole par-three golf course, an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course, tennis courts, a boules area and a children’s playground. It’s open every day and admission is free.

TRANSPORT Seafarers can sail into Malahide’s 350-berth marina. Landlubbers should catch the DART or hop on buses 102, 105, 142, 230, 32A or 42. There is also a suburban rail link. A proposed new road to Malahide will cut through land at Abbeville, formerly owned by Charlie Haughey. Not quite what he had in mind for the place.

SPORTING FACILITIES Sporting clubs include GAA, soccer, rugby, tennis, cricket and yachting. Local heroes include Philip Walton (golf), Joe Caprani (cricket), David Wilkins (sailing) and Ollie Campbell (rugby). Cricket is seeing a well-deserved upsurge in popularity and a planned upgrade will see the grounds meeting test-match standards. The National Diving Centre is located in Malahide and there are regular summer sea swims.

POLITICIANS Fianna Fáil’s erstwhile mayor and election hopeful Royston Brady lives here, as does Green Party Junior Minister Trevor Sargent. TD Darragh O’Brien took the Fianna Fail seat vacated by fellow local G.V. Wright in the last election. Joe Burke, former Dublin councillor, chairman of the Dublin Port Company and close friend of Bertie Ahern, is also a local. Former Justice Minister Nora Owen flies the Fine Gael flag in the neighbourhood.

THE BOTTOM LINE Going to Malahide is akin to travelling abroad. The lovely – expensive! – village features an array of independent boutiques. ‘Malahide Art Alley’ has weekly exhibits showcasing the work of local artists. There are dozens of restaurants and cafes to linger in and on a sunny day (a what?) the view out over the marina will remind you of some Mediterranean gem you stumbled across during your last expedition to continental Europe. Malahide: almost exotic.

by Eleanor Fitzsimons