Marino, Dublin
Marino [Irish: Muiríne] is a Northside suburb located in Dublin, Ireland.
Location and access
Marino 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 two kilometres from the GPO in O'Connell Street.
The area is served by the Clontarf Road DART station.
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.
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 state, of an affordable housing project. It is heavily influenced by the garden city movement.
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 houses were built by a private contractor using a proportion of immigrant German builders.[1] The houses each cost £657 to build (approximately €40,000 at today's costs ).[2]
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.
Sports Amenities
Marino is home to the renowned St Vincents GAA Club, based at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn just off the Malahide Road. St Vincents has produced many notable football and hurling players over the years. The club fields very successful senior sides and has a thriving juvenile section which caters for close to one thousand boys and girls.
Marino Boys AFC plays soccer on one of the greens. Marino/Fairview CY/LYMC is a pitch and putt and social club on Philipsburgh Avenue.
The 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.