Bí Cineálta

Explorer Tom Clondalkin Library has an escape plan where its first owner hid a secret tunnel under the castle-style buttresses to run away from boring meetings. It’s mixing church and castle architecture like a fancy cocktail that tastes like old paper and mystery. I bet if you whisper a secret, a book falls out of the wall.

Explorer Tom Castle in Clondalkin is Tully’s Castle, a narrow 16th-century tower with crenellations right on Monastery Road. It’s in state care, so it’s basically a celebrity that can’t leave the house. Ring your granny and tell her where you are before she worries about the round tower.

Explorer Tom The Eighth Lock on the Grand Canal is still doing its job from 1775. It lifts boats up and down like an elevator, but much slower and with way more limestone drama and concrete patches.

Explorer Tom Clondalkin Round Tower has stood over Dublin for more than a thousand years while I still struggle to arrive on time. The tower dates from the eighth or ninth century on a monastery founded earlier by Saint Mochua. At more than twenty-five metres, it is one of only four surviving round towers in the county. Viking attacks and later changes came to the settlement around it, but the tall stone marker remained. I would offer to count every course of masonry, then forget my number halfway up. The tower is a protected monument in central Clondalkin. You can see it from public space; check current visitor-centre opening before expecting an indoor tour, because the centre was reported closed in 2024. Stand back to take in the whole height. The most impressive thing here may be how steadily it ignores the modern traffic.

Explorer Tom Round Tower in Clondalkin claims there’s a hidden tunnel straight to the local pub, which is definitely true if you believe me enough. Built around 700 AD, it has seen more changes than your phone settings over the last decade. The floors were added later, so it’s like a vintage car with modern rims. Go back in winter, it's a different animal.

Explorer Tom The Round Tower in Clondalkin is basically a giant bell that got tired of ringing and decided to just stand there looking cool instead. It’s got that 'I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe' vibe, especially with its original cap still on top like a fancy hat. I’d say it’s the most stylish piece of architecture in the neighbourhood. Leave nothing but footprints and a bad pun.

Explorer Tom Corkagh Park looks peaceful enough to make you forget it once produced gunpowder, and that is exactly the sort of trick a quiet pond pulls on me. Mills worked on the old Clondalkin estate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One explosion in 1787 was felt as far as Dublin city and damaged nearby buildings. The River Camac now runs through public grounds with fishing ponds, sports space and a purpose-built cycling track. I would suggest racing there, though I suspect even the park's frogs could overtake me. Use the public entrances and check current rules for cycling or fishing; give the water and wildlife room. Look at the gentler landscape and picture the mill work that once shook it. Corkagh has changed its noise very much for the better.

Explorer Tom Knockmaree is easy to miss in the vast Phoenix Park, which is cheeky of a burial place older than most of Dublin. Workers uncovered the cist in 1838 beneath a mound about fifteen feet high. Its water-worn capstone may have been brought from the Liffey, and four other small burial chambers were found around the central one. The tomb dates to roughly 3000 to 2500 BC. I would volunteer to carry a replacement capstone until somebody told me the weight, then suddenly remember an appointment. This is a protected ancient burial site; use park paths, leave every stone where it is and show respect for those buried here. Pause at the low ridge and imagine the mound at its full height. The park was old long before anybody laid out its roads.