Marino

Marino Irish: An Mairíne
County Dublin
Aerial photograph of new-built Marino
Location
Grid reference:	O179364
Location:	53°21’54"N, 6°13’48"W
Data
Local Government
Council:	Dublin
Dáil constituency:	Dublin Bay North

Marino is an inner city suburb in the conurbation filling much of County Dublin, on the northside of Dublin. It roughly encompasses the area within the boundaries of Sion Hill Road, Gracepark Road, Philipsburgh Avenue (north of Lynch's), Malahide Road and Shelmartin Terrace. Marino borders other northside areas such as Fairview, Donnycarney and Clontarf. It is a mile from the General Post Office on O'Connell Street.

History

The townland of Marino was carved out of the townland of Donnycarney which was granted to the Corporation of Dublin following the dissolution of The Priory of All Hallows in the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1787, it was described by English writer Richard Lewis as "a small village a mile beyond Drumcondra and two-and-a-half miles from Dublin Castle."

The well-known Casino was built in 1759 as a summer house in the grounds of Marino House, demolished in the 1920s. A tunnel linking it to the main house for servants' use is where Michael Collins and his men carried out tests with their first Thompson sub-machine gun. The Asgard guns are believed to have been hidden here. The area was full of members of the Irish Citizens' Army. Jim Larkin lived in Croydon Park House and Countess Markiewicz and James Connolly were frequent visitors.

The area was developed for housing in the late 1920s and 1930s on the former estate lands of the Earl of Charlemont in the civil parish of Clonturk (now Marino, Fairview and Drumcondra). It is notable as one of the first examples, in the newly formed Irish Free State of an affordable housing project and was the first local authority housing estate in the country. It is heavily influenced by the garden city movement. The estate was built on the site of a planned formal garden for Marino House and the original design was followed when the streets were laid out. This gives Marino its symmetrical layout. When it was first built, purchases of houses was restricted to large families, while alcohol, dogs without leads and children after dark were banned from the parks.

The area consists of about 1,300 houses built for the most part of concrete, which was an unusual building material at that time in Ireland. The scheme was designed by Frederick Hicks and H.T. O'Rourke and the houses were built by a private contractor using a proportion of immigrant German builders. The houses each cost £657 to build but the average selling price was £450.

The development centred on a large circular 'green', Marino Park, with adjoining symmetrical green areas such as Marino Green, the green area in the middle of Croydon Park Avenue is known locally as the "D" walls, that give the area a highly distinctive character when seen from the air.

Sport

• Gaelic athletics: St Vincents GAA, based at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn
• Football: Marino AFC

Carlton Hall Community Centre located on Shelmartin Avenue provides the local community with many facilities including karate, mother and baby classes etc.

The Order of Malta Ambulance Corps has a unit in Marino which provides first aid cover to local events.

The casino at Marino

The Casino at Marino

Main article: Casino at Marino

The Casino is a famous piece of Irish neo-classical architecture. It was designed by William Chambers as a pleasure house for James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont. It is regarded as one of the finest 18th century neo-classical buildings in Europe. The Casino, meaning "small house", contains a total of 16 finely decorated rooms. It is maintained by the Office of Public Works and is open to the public annually from April to October, with an admission charge.

Outside links

• Marino Residents' Association