In 1787, Marino was described by English writer Richard Lewis as "a small village a mile beyond Drumcondra and two-and-a-half miles from Dublin Castle." Although there are more houses now, it's still very much a small village with residents looking out for each other. This area was the first local authority housing estate in the country and is now something of a showpiece.
The estate was built by the Corporation in 1926 and 1927 for tenant purchase. These were "hairshirt' years, yet the Government of the day tackled the need for housing in the 1920s with imagination. Brick exteriors, solid walls and large gardens are some of the attractions of local authority housing from that period. Asbestos ceilings are still in situ in some of the houses' upstairs rooms and will need to be replaced.
The Marino estate was built on the site of a planned formal garden for Marino House (since demolished) and the original design was followed when the streets were laid out. This accounts for the neo-classical and almost symmetrical layout of Marino.
Roads lead off two large circular greens like spokes on a wheel. Four smaller oval-shaped greens form an outer circle within the wheel pattern. The natural boundaries of Philipsburgh Avenue, Griffith Avenue and Fairview Strand contain the Marino "wheel". Although most were built in the 1920s and 1930s, the houses vary in style and many have huge back gardens. Most sought-after are the Dutch-style houses which have attractive mansard roofs, although all the pretty terraced houses have a waiting list of keen prospective buyers. T
here is no good or bad part of Marino. At one end there is newly fashionable Fairview and the city, at the other, solid Drumcondra houses on Griffith Avenue. People living in houses close to Griffith Avenue and Clontarf Road are within walking distance of the new DART station, those on the Philipsburgh Avenue side can actually walk to town in under half an hour. Residents say there is a sense of continuity in Marino, with good gardens attracting young families to the area when `executor sale' houses come on the market. On Sunday mornings the greens are filled with neighbourhood football teams and there is a good level of parent participation. When Marino was first built, purchase was restricted to large families. Long-time resident Tommy Condren's father paid £25 for his house in 1925. He remembers the tennis court on Croydon Park Gardens where you could play for sixpence an hour. Rackets were free but whites had to be worn. In those days, the late Canon Flanagan - a man ahead of his time - banned alcohol, dogs without leads and children after dark from the parks. The tennis court was removed during the Emergency so residents could grow vegetables on the green.
There is still a high percentage of retired people living here who keep their houses well and "look out" for each other. Some of these are among the residents protesting at the Dublin Port Tunnel which is planned to run under the centre of Marino. The scheme was approved by Minister for the Environment and Local Government Noel Dempsey last December and tenders from five consortiums for the construction contract are due in June. Work on the £204 million scheme is expected to start by the end of the year.
The Marino Development Action Group has questioned the logic of a tunnel running under the densely populated housing estate. They have suggested that the extensive church-owned lands on Griffith Avenue or under the canal would be a safer option. Corporation Deputy Project Engineer Hugh Creegan says that a Dublin Transport Initiative study group looked at alternative routes, including the canal and found the present tunnel path "the best in terms of environmental, engineering and cost". On the safety aspect, independent surveyors will carry out tests on each house affected by the tunnel before and after it is built.
One of Marino's best-known landmarks is the Palladian-style Casino which stands on a gentle rise just off the Malahide Road. Visitors who manage to find their way to the building from the main road will be charmed by its miniature beauty and many architectural surprises. Look out for the tall windows with bevelled glass panes backed by black-painted walls which cleverly disguise smaller windows on the inside. Duchas gives guided tours of the Casino daily. The Casino was built in 1759 by the 1st Earl of Charlemont as a summer house in the grounds of Marino House, demolished in the 1920s. The tunnel to the main house for servants' use is said to have been where Michael Collins and his men carried out shooting practise with their first Thompson sub-machine gun.
The Asgard guns are also believed to have been hidden here and the Irish Citizens' Army drilled in the area. Jim Larkin lived in Croydon Park House and Countess Markiewicz and James Connolly were frequent visitors.
On the edge of Marino where it joins Clontarf, Marino Crescent is locally known as "Spite Crescent" from accusations that builder Charles Ffolliot erected the row to obscure Lord Charlemont's view of Dublin Bay.
So popular is Marino as a place to live that houses often come quietly on the market without advertising or signboards. Douglas Newman Good has a three-bed end-terrace on Casino Road, needing modernisation but with a decent garden for £185,000. Gunne residential has one three-bedroom mid-terrace house on St Declan's Road, currently for sale for in excess of £180,000. This is in the much-desired mansard roof style.
BRIAN Road is one of the longer thoroughfares in Marino, so houses tend to come on the market more frequently. Gunne has just sold a three-bed terrace on Brian Road for £170,000 and another on Brian Road in need of work sold six months ago in the mid-£180,000s. GWD two weeks ago sold a mid-terrace house on Brian Avenue for over £190,000 and Douglas Newman Good recently achieved £200,000 for a Brian Avenue semi needing work. A year ago, one of these could be bought for around £140,000.
Around the many greens and particularly on the "keyhole" cul-de-sacs with small greens at the end, it is particularly safe for children and highly sought-after.
An end of terrace house on Marino Park in mint condition has just changed hands with GWD for over £200,000. Douglas Newman Good sold a similar house on Marino Park last February for £198,000. Twelve months ago, a Croydon Gardens house in perfect condition fetched £155,000 through Jackson-Stops.
Houses with more than three bedrooms are a rarity in Marino - and usually these are extensions of smaller end-terrace houses with large gardens. Douglas Newman Good sold a five-bedroom extended house on Haverty Road a month ago for £245,000. Houses in Marino have rarity value, proximity to the city and great charm. Already soaring in value, this gem of a housing estate is worth exploring as an example of one of the finest - and most interesting - local authority schemes in the country.
Plus
Well-designed estate
Green areas
Good bus service/DART
Minus
Few houses for sale
Proposed tunnel
