Casino Marino

I think this is one of Dublin’s hidden gems. As a lover of architecture this is a tour well worth the effort of getting there and finding it. It’s a great example of an architectural folly, I for one love the ingenuity of the structures which make the building appear small on the outside and much grander on the inside. I for one will be going back again and again as I find it a fascinating structure. Not to be missed.

If you are visiting Dublin or even if you live there and want somewhere interesting to go, a visit to the Casino, Marino is an ideal choice.
Located just over two miles north of Dublin City, on the Malahide Road.
(across the road from Clontarf Golf Club).
This is a very famous neo Classical Garden Temple, which was the pleasure house of Lord Charlemont in the eighteenth Century. It is called a «Casino» meaning a little house in and the area Marino, means beside the sea.
You’ll be amazed at the complexities of this architectural gem. It looks like one room from the outside, but has sixteen rooms in total inside! Look out for the unusual tunnels and the hidden window. There are also beautiful rare wooden floors. The guides there, are extremely pleasant and provide lots of information about the building. Last tour is at five p.m. and four p.m. in October.

If you are looking for neo classical splendor in Dublin then this is the place to go my friend. The Casino at Marino is so great it rhymes! The building was and is a statement of wealth and class. acting as a summer house (Yes its a house and not a folly) this building is deceptively large. there are many little quirky elements to its interior that make it an amazingly intuitive and inventive building. Things like the curvature of the glass on the windows so that outsiders cannot see straight through them while those inside can look out… drain pipes that are hidden inside columns and an underground tunnel that stretches to the family home (Now blocked up but still in existence!). The floors are also a little peculiar with the large windows being intercepted by a floor ²⁄₃ the way up. its all very quirky really.
The house has a range of different rooms that are quite decorative. This was built in the time of the grand tour and so its design and its contents all feature elements of the Renaissance and ancient Rome.
Well worth a tour

Sin duda alguna, una joya desconocida de Dublín.
Un edificio neoclásico que si cuyo exterior ya es bonito, el interior esconde infinidad de ‘trucos’ del arquitecto que no dejan indiferente y sorprenden.
Sin duda alguna merece la pena alejarse un poco del centro de Dublín para descubrirlo.
Dura entorno a una hora la visita y el precio es más que asequible (3 euros).

My brother’s girlfriend works in Marino teacher training college and she was raving to me how amazing this place is and was at me to take the tour. The tour takes just under an hour and I am really glad that I heeded her tip. It really is amazing to see the eccentricities too much money will allow you to indulge.
«The Casino was designed by Sir William Chambers as a pleasure house for James Caulfeild, 1^st Earl of Charlemont. It is one of the finest 18^th century neoclassical buildings in Europe The Casino, meaning „small house“, surprisingly contains 16 finely decorated rooms, endlessly rich in subtlety and design. It is a remarkable building — both in terms of structure and history.»
James Caulfeild did not want his guests to be disturbed by the presence of servants, heaven forbid, so there is a separate corridor for them to bring the food etc to the guests in the room.

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 was built by aristocrats to look really good, but not really to perform a specific function. Think of it as a big granite play-​house).
The building is called ‘Casino’ as in the Italian for ‘little house’ (gambling houses were not known as casinos until later), and was built by the architect Sir William Chambers for James Caulfield, the 1^st Earl of Charlemont in the 18^th Century.
The building is like a big optical illusion, as from a distance it looks like it contains only one vast room, but when you get up close, it becomes apparent that it contains a number of rooms across a several floors. And for such a grandiose design, the building itself is actually quite small. And some of the columns were constructed hollow to contain drainpipes in order that the façade would not look cluttered, and the urns on the roof contain chimneys.
It’s a pity more people don’t visit the Casino, although it is understandable as it is located somewhat off the beaten track, not only because it is in the northside suburbs, but also because the entrance isn’t even on the main road, you have to go through a housing estate to get there.
A sadly overlooked architectural gem on Dublin’s northside.

Located in the grounds where the Fire Brigade Training Institute is, this building is an architectural and cultural gem. For anyone who loves style, grandeur, quaint charms, this place is right up your street! Built for a man, Lord Charlemont, who had just done a grand tour of Europe in the late 1700’s and who wanted a grand view of Dublin Bay (the name Marino coming from the Italian, little sea), it is a real jewel. It has an amazing, narrow, winding stairway, some fabulous rooms, all of which you can see, an amazingly laid out and designed dining room with a lovely décor. The architect knew his job! But what makes it appealing and attractive to the general public is, it’s like something that you would dream up in your greatest fantasy — like a dream home! The tour guides are very informative, personable and give a good tour of the place. This is well worth a visit — the Casino of Marino is a hidden jewel!