| Casino at Marino | |
|---|---|
| Etymology | Italian casino, 'little house' |
| General information | |
| Location | Marino |
| Town or city | Dublin |
| Coordinates | 53°22′16″N6°13′37″W / 53.37124°N 6.22703°WCoordinates: 53°22′16″N6°13′37″W / 53.37124°N 6.22703°W |
| Completed | 1775 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 50 feet (15 m) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Sir William Chambers |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 16 |
The Casino at Marino is a folly located in Marino, Dublin, Ireland which was designed by Scottish architect William Chambers for James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont,[1] starting in the late 1750s and finishing around 1775.[2] It is a small and perfect example of Neo-Classical architecture, situated in the gardens of Marino House. Although proud of the design, Chambers was never able to visit the completed building, as he was constantly employed in England.
Name[edit]
Designed by Scottish architect Sir William Chambers, the Casino Marino is a charming little 18th century house located at Marino. Built as a pleasure house for the 1st Earl of Charlemont, James Caulfeild, the house is a classic example of Neo-Classical architecture. The Casino Marino is a must visit for history and architecture buffs. Map of Casino at Marino, Grace Park ED (Marino), Dublin. Directory of services close to Casino at Marino, Grace Park ED (Marino): shops, restaurants, leisure and sports facilities, hospitals, gas stations and other places of interest.
The name 'Casino' is the diminutive form of the 18th-century Italian word 'Casa' meaning 'House', thus 'Little House',[3] and is not used in the modern sense of 'gambling establishment'. After his 9-year Grand Tour of Italy and Greece, Caulfield was taken with all things Italian, and decided to add a 'little house'[4] to his estate, which he had already named after the town of Marino in Lazio.[5]
Design[edit]
Widely regarded as the most important Neo-Classical building in Ireland,[2] the Casino is actually quite small, measuring only fifty feet square to the outer columns. In plan, it takes the form of a Greek Cross with a pair of columns framing each projecting elevation. Seen from the outside, the building has the appearance of a single roomed structure, with a large panelled door on the north elevation and a single large window on each of the other elevations. This is all illusion, however, as it actually contains 16 rooms on three floors.[1] Only two of the panels in the door open to allow entrance, and the panes of glass in the windows are subtly curved, disguising the partitioning which allows what looks like a single window to serve several separate rooms.
Many other tricks are used throughout the construction to preserve the apparent simplicity of the design. Four of the columns which surround the building are hollow and, with a length of chain dangling in each, allow rainwater to drain down. The Roman funerary urns on the roof (designed by James Gandon) are used as chimneys.[6] The interior, by Simon Vierpyl, includes a basement level with a kitchen and associated rooms, a main floor with reception rooms and a top storey with servants' rooms and a State Bedroom. One of the rooms includes the Blue Salon. It includes a wooden parquet floor, with the Star of David in the centre, stucco work on the ceiling and a white marble fireplace. It contains some very fine plasterwork ceilings and some elaborate hardwood parquet floors.[7] Originally the Casino was linked to Marino House by a tunnel, although this has been blocked off due to building works in the area.
Gardens[edit]
The Casino is all that remains of the eighteenth-century garden demesne at Marino with the original Marino House demolished in the 1920's. Described by Charles T. Bowden in his Travel Guide of 1791 as a 'terrestrial paradise', the design of the landscape was inspired by Lord Charlemont's extensive Grand Tour.[8]
History[edit]
The tunnel at the Casino was used as a shooting range by Irish revolutionaries including Michael Collins in the 1920s.[9]
References[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Casino at Marino. |
- ^ abCasino, Marino on the Heritage Ireland websiteArchived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ abCasino, Marino on Irish-architecture.comArchived 10 June 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Collins English Dictionary, 1999
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/5439/VIERPYL,+SIMON+*[permanent dead link]
- ^'Paradise Lost|The Casino at Marino'. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^O'Braonain, Fiachna (10 September 2017). 'Episode 1'. Jingle Jangle. TV3.
Irish: An Mairíne | |
|---|---|
Aerial photograph taken shortly after the construction of Marino | |
Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°21′54″N6°13′48″W / 53.365°N 6.23°WCoordinates: 53°21′54″N6°13′48″W / 53.365°N 6.23°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Dublin |
| Council | Dublin City Council |
| Dáil Éireann | Dublin Bay North |
| European Parliament | Dublin |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
Marino (Irish: An Mairíne) is an inner city suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland.
Location and access[edit]
Marino 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 two kilometres from the GPO in O'Connell Street.
The area is served by the Clontarf Road DART station.
Dublin Bus operates route 123 through Marino, with other routes passing around the edges.
History[edit]
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.[citation needed]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 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[1] and the houses were built by a private contractor using a proportion of immigrant German builders.[2] The houses each cost £657 to build (approximately €40,000 at today's costs)[3]but were sold for prices as low as £25.
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.
Amenities[edit]
Marino is home to schools including St. Vincent de Paul Infants and Girls National School, Scoil Mhuire CBS and Ard Scoil Rís Secondary School which are all located on Griffith Avenue, next to the Parish church.
Along Philipsburgh Avenue there is a strip of shops that serve the local people of Marino including a hairdressers, butchers, C&T Superstore, pharmacy and bakery.
Marino is home to St Vincents GAA Club, based at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn just off the Malahide Road, bordering Donnycarney. St Vincents has produced many notable football and hurling players over the years. The club fields successful senior sides and has a thriving juvenile section which caters for close to one thousand boys and girls.
Marino AFC plays soccer on one of the greens.
San Marino Parks
Marino/Fairview CY/LYMC is a pitch and putt and social club on Philipsburgh Avenue.
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[edit]
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.
Notable people[edit]
- Harry Boland lived at 5 Marino Crescent.
- William Carleton, novelist, lived at No. 3 Marino Crescent.
- James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont.
- Dermot Desmond, businessman.
- Fintan Gavin, Catholic Bishop.
- Martin Haverty, historian.
- Tom Jordan, actor
- James Larkin, trade unionist, lived in Croydon House.
- Seán Óg Potts, uilleann piper.
- Cathal O'Shannon, broadcaster.
- Michael Ryan, broadcaster.
- John Sheahan, member of The Dubliners.
- Larry Thorpe, Engineer and Senior Fellow, Canon.
- Alex White, TD and minister.
- Steve Wickham, musician.
Religion[edit]
Marino is a parish in the Fingal South East deanery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. It is served by the Church of St Vincent de Paul.[4]
References[edit]
- ^'HICKS, FREDERICK GEORGE'. Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS IN SAORSTAT, Dail Questions, 13 November, 1925Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Irish Senate Debate, LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL, 1926, 23 February 1927Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Official website - Marino parish
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