Lady Maud Plunkett chases her third husband, a Lord Chief Justice, through the corridors of the Castle. Its said that the Chief Justice himself only appears so Lady Plunkett can chase him for afterlife exercise. I guess even after death you still can pack on the pounds. Nothing is said on how they died, I'm guessing it was over exerstion.

Miles Corbett was the person to whom Cromwell gave the Castle and property during during his military campaign for the conquest of Ireland. Following the demise of Cromwell, Miles was deprived of his property and made to pay the penalty of the many crimes he had committed during his occupancy, and which included the desecration of the chapel near the Castle. He was hanged, drawn and quartered. They say that on the 19th April, the anniversary of Corbet’s death, can be heard, if not seen, galloping on his grey horse or as a perfectly whole soldier in armor, but then falls into four pieces before your eyes.

A curious legend exists regarding the carved chimneypiece in the Oak Room of the Castle. It is sculptured to represent the ascent of the Coronation of the Virgin. When Cromwell was in power in Ireland, he put Miles Corbet in charge of Malahide Castle. During his tenancy, the figure of the Virgin disappeared from the carved chimney piece which continued to remain blank until Corbet's departure. Then the Virgin miraculously resumed her place in the sculptured setting, where it may still be seen today.

In the 16th Century, the Talbots had a jester among their ensemble of servants. One of these was a jester named “Puck”. Other people state that Puck was at one time, was the resident caretaker. He was four foot tall and bearded.

As if it wasn't confusing enough there are multiple stories of Puck's demise. One story has Puck in love with a kinswoman of Lady Elenora Fitzgerald, who was detained at the Castle by Henry VIII because of her rebel tendencies. On a snowy December night the jester was found close to the walls of the Castle stabbed through the heart. Before he died he swore an oath that he would haunt the Castle until a master reigned who choose a bride from the people, but would harm no one if a male Talbot slept under the roof.

A second story of Puck states that his main function was to keep watch and sound the alarm in case of attack and lived in a turret of the Castle, now known as Puck's Staircase. He was somewhat of a recluse and his food was to be left outside his door each night at sundown. Every morning the empty trays and plates, spotlessly clean, would be in the same spot awaiting collection. Then, out of the blue, for some unknown reason he hanged himself from the Minstrel's Gallery, overlooking the Great Hall.

The story of his ghost is that his dwarfish figure has appeared in photographs taken in the Great Hall and even in external photographs of the Castle. On the guided tour in the Dining Hall near the area of Puck’s Staircase, the lady guide asks her visitors to “please, stand aside, make way for Puck”.

Conclusion
I took a few pictures of the Dining Hall while I was there, but I never saw Puck. As a matter of fact, none of the many spirits said to haunt Malahide made an appearance while I visited. While this Castle has more than 800 years of history, I seriously doubt its actually haunted. To be on the safe side, I visited the gift shop and bought a 4 leaf clover that came from the grounds. No sense in taking chances upsetting the spirits, should they really exist.