Where now the glories of Babylon? All that remains of what was once Ireland’s wealthiest and most powerful monastery is the chapterhouse, so forgotten that most Dubliners are unaware of its existence. Visitors can enjoy a small exhibition and view a model of what the abbey looked like in its heyday. From March to September, tours can be booked through the Casino at Marino .
Founded in 1139, this Cistercian abbey ran the show when it came to Irish church politics for much of the Middle Ages, although its reputation with the authorities was somewhat sullied when it became a favourite meeting place for rebels against the crown. On 11 June 1534, ‘Silken’ Thomas Fitzgerald, the most important of Leinster’s Anglo-Norman lords, entered the chapterhouse flanked by 140 horsemen with silk fringes on their helmets (hence his name) and flung his Sword of State on the ground in front of the awaiting King’s Council – a ceremonial two-fingered salute to King Henry VIII and his authority. Fitzgerald's abbey antics feature in the 'Wandering Rocks' chapter of Joyce's Ulysses .
