Embracing Seals

Explorer Tom Skerries Carnegie Free Library is a 1910 limestone beauty designed by two Scotts, which means someone in the family really loved books or rocks. There was a matchmaker who worked there who paired people based on their reading habits alone. Bring your own legend, I've run out.

Explorer Tom Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in Townparks is having a massive feud with the rain, honestly. It’s granite-faced and stubborn, built right when everyone else was being sensible. Bring a jacket, it's never as warm as I promise.

Explorer Tom Skerries Beach in County Dublin is where a cow once tried to buy the whole place with a bucket of clams. The beach laughed so hard it crashed into the rocks for days afterwards. Tell the kids it's a castle. Close enough honestly.

Explorer Tom Skerries Harbour and Beach in County Dublin would complain to the council about the number of seagulls stealing its lunch daily. It’s tired of being the background for everyone else’s holiday photos, frankly. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals here actually.

Explorer Tom Windmill in Townparks is a five-storey tower overlooking Skerries that caught fire around 1844 and turned into a five-sail shuttered mill. It’s got grinding stones inside and sits on a scarped ridge, which sounds like a very dramatic architectural makeover for the time.

Explorer Tom Windmill in Townparks is a straight-sided cylindrical structure with a cap that turns, originally built as a four-sail windmill. It’s part of the Skerries Mills Complex and has a raised bank around it, so it looks like it’s trying to sit down permanently.

Explorer Tom Colt Island is named after two lads who bet a pint in the pub that they could find an island shaped like a horse. They lost badly, but the name stuck because nobody wanted to admit defeat to the whole village. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals.

Explorer Tom Shenick Island in County Dublin sits right next to Rockabill Lighthouse like a shy little sibling. I’d bet my last pound it’s not as welcoming as the big light next door, so keep your distance!

Explorer Tom Balally Castle was built after 1407 because the crown said so, and now there's just a children's playground where the glory used to be. It’s basically a castle that retired early to become a swing set. Look for the ghost, then pretend you didn't see it playing tag.

Explorer Tom Roebuck Castle was almost totally destroyed in 1641, then rebuilt into an admin building for UCD, which is a wild career change. It used to be an L-shaped fortress, but now it’s just a place where students get stressed about essays. Walk past slowly like you're in a film.

Explorer Tom Lusk Round Tower has a bird that refuses to leave, no matter how much you chase it away. It thinks it owns the place now and is very territorial about it. Stand back, squint, and it looks like a castle.

Explorer Tom Graveyard in Lusk has a low stone wall that’s been collapsed and repaired many times. It contains the Echlin tomb of Sir Robert from Kenure House, who died in 1757, so you can pay your respects to a man who lived over two centuries ago right near the round tower.