On my first free weekend, a group of 5 of us went to Ireland for the 4th of July weekend. On the fourth, we took a Coast and Castle Hop on-Hop off tour to Malahide Castle. The Talbot family inhabited the Malahide castle for 800 years until 1975 when the sister of Lord Milo sold it due to a high inheritance tax. The second room we visited was drawing room and made to displayed wealth: bright colored walls that required a large amount of pigment, ornate details, and a chair from King George's coronation. In the large drawing room, Lady Isabel Talbot held parties as she was very prone to the high life. Also in the room, there was a strange looking couch with extra seats for chaperones. (seen in the image)
This was when the young gentlemen would court young ladies during parties and could only discuss light politics, the lady’s day and the weather. The chaperone was to ensure that these rules were followed. There were four bedrooms, with the Master and Missus of the house inhabiting different rooms: hence our common term "Master's bedroom".
While my trip to Malahide does not relate well to my major, it does relate to why I wanted to study abroad. My trip to the castle allowed me to have a bit more insight into Irish history and culture. The high inheritance tax was during a period of anti-britishism; the IRA were highly active in the 1970s. Due to previous British rule, any native Irish person was lower class and therefore had little to pass down as inheritance. Those who did were set in place by the British during the conquering of Ireland, and therefore had their prestige due to Britain. The high inheritance tax punished them for this association. I greatly enjoyed my time at the Malahide castle, even with the cost of the coast and castle tour being as high as it was at £22.50. I was able to get several interesting pictures, which is a hobby of mine. Without this excursion, I would not have had the exposure to the Troubles of Ireland during the 1970s. -Kelsey
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