had disagreements on several occasions but ended up on good terms. Although the evidence was stacked against her, at her trial on 10 February the jury found Mrs. Marshall not guilty. Portobello Barracks was, up until the 1916 Rising, the home of the 4th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, which was under the command of John Henry Patterson. The barracks was adopted as General Michael Collins' Military Headquarters after the Irish War of Independence. The barracks hospital became Collins' home when he set up his headquarters, it was from here that he set off to Cork, the day he was killed 22 August 1922. The basin The Dublin section of the Grand Canal was opened on 23 April 1796, while Portobello Harbour came into use in 1801. In 1812 Richmond Basin, Portobello, (later called the "City Basin"), located between Lennox Street and the canal, was opened as a water reservoir for the south side of the city. From 1860 investigations of the water quality coming from the Basin showed that it was not up to standard – in particular, levels of sulphuric acid were relatively high. Public representatives from Rathmines were unwilling to supply the necessary money for a new water-works, but the will of the majority prevailed, and the new Vartry Reservoir was completed in 1863. The hotel The hotel at the harbour was opened in 1807 (the architect was James Colbourne). In 1858 it was taken over by a Catholic order of nuns, who used it as an asylum (St. Mary's) for blind girls. A few years later they successfully appealed to the Guardians of the South Dublin Union for some finance (it cost £10 to keep a girl for a year), though The Irish Times in an editorial frowned upon this proselytising by "Romanists", while they lauded the efforts of the Protestant-run "Home for Orphans" at 7 South Richmond Street (which advertised frequently for "fresh souls to save" in the same newspaper). Ten years later the asylum was sold to a Mr. Isaac Cole, who renovated it and returned it to its original function as a hotel, to accommodate 100 persons. It was popular among officers visiting the nearby Portobello Barracks (who would occasionally pop across South Richmond Street to the Grand Canal Tavern for a drink) and claimed it was the nearest hotel to the Royal Dublin Society grounds. However, it was slow in providing catering facilities