I was going down the Malahide Road on Saturday and noticed that the little toll house down near Fairview park has been totally demolished (there were workmen moving around the rubble as I went by on the bus about 3pm). There has been a planning permission notice on it for a while, but I believe that there were various attempts to preserve the building. Obviously now failed.
I believe that the toll house is a relic from the 18th century, when Marino was part of Lord Charlemont’s estate and the Malahide Road was one of the tolled routes out of Dublin. Although it hasn’t been used for a couple of years (shoemaker’s shop before that), it was a rather unique building in the urban landscape and probably in all of Ireland.
Below should be a photo of the toll house in former days, although if you go there now, you’ll just find a gaping big hole…