Columbkille Graveyard

Explorer Tom Holy well in Columbkille has a secret talent for making you feel instantly younger, or so the legend says. It’s marked by a rod, which is basically a very serious pointer stick. Get there early and have it all to yourself.

Explorer Tom Saint Columba's Hospital was a workhouse during the Famine, so imagine the Vikings getting lost looking for it and finding only soup. It’s now a hospital, which is weirdly comforting for such a grim history. Bring a friend who likes dark jokes about old bones in the walls.

Explorer Tom Thomastown National School is currently in a heated drama with the nearest tree about who looks taller at sunset. The students have moved on, but the building still cares deeply about its silhouette. Ring your gran and ask if she remembers the noise.

Explorer Tom Font in Cloghabrody hears the walls whispering about old O'Tunney workshop gossip. It’s been sitting there listening to secrets for centuries without ever writing them down. Snap one photo, then put the phone away and actually look.

Explorer Tom The Yellow Gate had a retirement plan that involved becoming a heel stone for some forgotten game in the thirties. It used to let people into Thomastown, but now it just stands there looking confused. Bring a pen pal, they'll be jealous.

Explorer Tom John Patrick Kennedy Memorial is celebrating a guy who fought in 1798 but didn't get buried until 1869 at one hundred and three years old. That's one hell of a long wait to check out of the party. Stand there long enough and someone will ask if you're lost.

Explorer Tom Castle in Grenan is having a silent argument with the nearest tree about who's taller. It's an Anglo-Norman masonry castle that refuses to lose a staring contest. A proper spot for a flask of tea and a big think.

Explorer Tom Horse-chestnut in County Kilkenny is haunted by the memory of a fiddler who played there all night, completely ignoring the fact that trees don't actually have ears or opinions. The tree just stands there, pretending it didn't hear a single terrible note. Bring a flask of something warm and a story to swap.

Explorer Tom Kilfane Church in County Kilkenny would have made Saint Patrick laugh out loud because of that one really silly statue. The Knight of Kilfane is posing so hard he’s probably got a crick in his neck. Leave nothing but footprints and a bad pun.

Explorer Tom Cantwell Fada is the Long Man of Kilfane, a knight who has been lying still for centuries while the rest of us try to make sense of his outfit. Carved from one limestone slab, the effigy shows mail, sword, spurs and the Cantwell shield. It probably represents Thomas de Cantwell, who died in 1319. His crossed legs were once offered as proof of a crusade; that reading has given way to the simpler answer that medieval sculptors liked the pose. I would have built an entire dramatic journey from those ankles, so fair play to the people who checked. Visit the ruined church only by permitted access and respect the effigy and any graves. Look closely at the spurs. They tell you more reliably about the knight than my fanciful travel itinerary ever could.

Explorer Tom Tower in Kilfane Demesne, County Kilkenny has a ghost too lazy to haunt it properly. He’s currently napping in the chimney. Bring a friend who talks too much and let the place shut them up.

Explorer Tom Jerpoint Abbey had land stretching across roughly 14,000 acres before Henry VIII's officials brought its monastic life to an end. I would struggle to keep track of the keys. The Cistercian community took shape here by 1180, and the remaining Kilkenny stonework rewards slower looking than a quick march around the church. Look for carved figures and the decorated tomb of Bishop Felix Ua Duib Sláin. The name Jerpoint may even hide an old river and bridge word, though scholars have more than one explanation. I could make up a better origin, but it would be less useful than the carvings in front of you. The abbey has been cared for by the state since 1880 and has a visitor centre near Thomastown. Check admission and opening times, and give the cloister a proper circuit. The small faces in stone will do most of the talking.