Casino Marino

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]

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]

Hours June–Sept 10am–6pm; mid-Mar to May and Oct daily 10am–5pm; closed Nov to mid-Mar except to prebooked groups Transportation Bus: 14, 27, 27A, 27B, 42, 43, 128 Phone 01/833-1618 Prices Admission €7 adults; €5 seniors; €3 children and students; €12 families Web site Casino Marino Other Last admission 45 min. The Casino at Marino is one of the best examples of neo-classical architecture in Ireland, and is one of very few follies still extant in the country (if you don't know what a folly is, it is a type of building that.

Design[edit]

Casino Marino The Casino is a remarkable building, both in terms of structure and history. Sir William Chambers designed it as a pleasure-house for James Caulfeild, first earl of Charlemont, beside his residence in what was then the countryside. It is a gem of eighteenth-century neo-classical architecture. Welcome to the Casino Marino The Casino was designed by Sir William Chambers in the late eighteenth-century as a pleasure house for James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont. It is widely acknowledged as the most important example of neoclassical architecture in Ireland. The Casino is operated and managed by the Office of Public Works. Terms and Conditions Casino Marino Dublin Wikipedia apply. New players only. Min deposit £10. Welcome package splits Casino Marino Dublin Wikipedia over 3 deposits. 35x wagering requirement.

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.

San Marino Casino

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 1920s. 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]

In the 1960s, a large portion of the land around the neighbouring O'Brien Institute was given to the Sisters of Nazareth for their Nazareth House, a residential home for the elderly. Archbishop John McQuaid organised the transfer of the land, and construction began on the new home months before planning permission was granted. The development was a significant encroachment on the previously unchanged environs of the Casino.^[10]

References[edit]

Casino Marino Dublin Ireland

1. ^ ^abCasino, Marino on the Heritage Ireland websiteArchived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ ^abCasino, Marino on Irish-architecture.comArchived 10 June 2005 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^Collins English Dictionary, 1999
4. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. ^http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/5439/VIERPYL,+SIMON+*^{[permanent dead link]}
8. ^'Paradise Lost The Casino at Marino'. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
9. ^O'Braonain, Fiachna (10 September 2017). 'Episode 1'. Jingle Jangle. TV3.
10. ^McDonald, Frank (1985). The destruction of Dublin. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 10–11. ISBN0-7171-1386-8. OCLC60079186.

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