As a follow-up to the talk given by Professor Seán Duffy in April a visit to Clontarf took place on Thursday, 29th May. The first port of call in the morning was the Casino in Marino which is considered one of the finest neo-classical buildings in Europe. It was constructed of Portland stone and has sixteen rooms. Lord Charlemont for whom the Casino was built used it to entertain his high society friends. The building is well worth a visit. After lunch in Clontarf Castle the group was taken on a guided tour of the Clontarf area by an excellent guide in Dennis McIntyre. Dennis, who has written a very scholarly tome entitled “The bull of the Meadow : A story of Clontarf” enthralled the members with his knowledge and presentation. We visited many places including Bull Island, Bram Stoker House, St. Anne’s Park, the Red Stables while the story of the Guinness and Vernon families together with the explanation and origin of local place names were authoritatively dealt with by Dennis. It was a marvellous tour enjoyed by all.
Slane and District History Society 