The supposed lordship, castle, lands and harbour at Malahide near Dublin town were bequeathed to the Talbots during the reign of Henry II. Documented to be Normans who were believed to be administrators for the saxons; the castle was attacked during the as called Catholic confederacy wars of the 1600’s under the leadership of James FitzThomas- Butler. The prefix Fitz was first registered among Saxons, though believed to be Irish now. According to a report John Talbot, the owner was said to have been loyal to the u.k. crown but other family members not believed to be. Richard Talbot, a member of the landed gentry, is believed to have fought on the side of the catholic confederacy. He was accused of treason and his estates forfeited. According to a news item he then struck a deal and began paying the crown rent until around the time of the Cromwellian plantation, when he was believed to have been given the choice of to hell or Connaught.
Following Oliver Cromwell’s dissent Myles Corbet who was believed to be one of the signatories of the death warrant of Charles I, was reportedly rewarded with Malahide castle amongst other things. Following the reinstatement of Charles II, Corbet was believed to have been executed, 1662, reportedly for regicide. The Talbots were said to have been reinstated but reportedly with greatly reduced land. Richard Talbot, said to have been a duke, was believed to have fought on the side of the Catholic confederacy war, reportedly of 1641. He was wounded in the battle for Drogheda in 1649 and is said to have managed to escape, dressed as a woman. Following the defeat of the confederacy, he travelled to Madrid, then to Flanders. He is said to have agreed to take part in the assasination of Oliver Cromwell and was reportedly arrested in England, questioned by Cromwell and sent to the tower of London, but according to one report he escaped after getting the servants drunk. He denied accusations of being on Cromwell’s pay. When he died many years later, poison was reportedly suspected but never proven. He is buried in Limerick Cathedral.
The Talbots who resided in the castle were said to have fought in the army of King James II against Cromwell and his men. Fourteen of them are believed to have died in the battle of the Boyne, the battle being depicted in a painting on a 3 metre long canvas hanging in the castle which is open to visitors. The Talbots, being described as catholics and staunch royalists, became protestant reportedly around 1774. The family didn’t really do well.
A descendant of the Talbot line was Milo John Talbot. As a student he was reportedly taught by Guy Burgess, believed to be part of a Russian spy ring which included Anthony Blunt, art surveyor to Elizabeth II. Described as a mysoginistic bachelor, he is documented to have worked in the foreign office but may have been a spy. There is believed to have been many rumours concerning his subversive activities. Suggestions were that as described botanical collecting trips and others were covers for undisclosed activity. Milo was said to have died suddenly in Greece in 1973 at the age of 60. Foul play was reportedly suspected. According to one report, his sister Rose burnt all his papers so his secrets remain unknown. As described excessive death duties meant she had to sell Malahide Castle and according to a report, moved to Tasmania.