placenamesMarino
A nineteenth-century school and its chapel found new uses in fire-service training and public administration.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Marino · Irish · main form · validated name
- Marino · English · main form
Place & story
A school endowed by Bridget O’Brien
Bridget O’Brien’s bequest funded the orphanage and school designed by John Joseph O’Callaghan on land acquired from the Charlemont estate. The architectural inventory dates construction to 1880–83 and records an 1882 inscription. Red brick, limestone detailing and pointed windows distinguish the large building, which the Christian Brothers originally operated. [2]
The chapel becomes an auditorium
O’Callaghan also designed the adjoining chapel, built in 1883. Its entrance front combines a geometric rose window with a bell tower whose upper stage is octagonal. The inventory records conversion to an auditorium in 2009, a later use for a building that retains its Gothic Revival exterior. [3]
Training firefighters
The school closed in 1972. Dublin Corporation acquired the institute in 1982, and Dublin Fire Brigade began training operational personnel there in 1984. The council records the establishment of the brigade museum the following year. The complex therefore preserves an educational role while serving a different profession. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Marino. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- O’Brien Institute: former orphanage and school, inventory 50130271 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- O’Brien Institute: former chapel, inventory 50130272 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre — the O’Brien Institute · Dublin City Council / Dublin Fire Brigade
- Marino townland, Clonturk parish, Coolock barony · Townlands.ie / OpenStreetMap contributors
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2024-06-28. How this page was prepared.