Marino at 100: A garden suburb of lasting influence

Abstract

Almost a century ago, Dublin Corporation began the detailed planning for its first large-scale suburban development. The intention was to build according to high ideals and high standards. Marino would be a garden suburb, following the then new Tudor Walters norms for the better-off working class and be a major step in solving the housing crisis in Dublin. Dublin Corporation had a point to prove, having been subjected to a stinging (and in the members’ view, unfair) rebuke in the 1913 inquiry into the housing of the working classes in Dublin. A fine suburb was indeed constructed, which remains a prime residential area to this day. During the development process, Dublin Corporation found itself having to make policy decisions quickly which had far reaching consequences. What began as pragmatic responses to current circumstances came to be some of the defining principles which underpinned social housing (and some private housing) provision in Dublin for most of the century. As Marino approaches its centenary, it is appropriate to revisit the area and reassess its importance.