Geometrical Calligraphy

Explorer Tom Islamic Information Centre used to be a manse for a reverend, now it’s doing something different. Built in '80 with red brick and rock-faced granite. It’s got a canted bay window that’s begging for attention.

Explorer Tom Dublin Mosque on South Circular Road is a former Presbyterian church with rock-faced granite walls and red sandstone details. It’s been a mosque since the 1980s, so take a look at that crescent finial for me!

Explorer Tom Griffith College Multi-denominational School has a ghost who is too lazy to haunt it because the stairs are too steep. It was once a bridewell, so the ghosts probably don't want to be trapped in red brick again. The guardhouse vibe is still there, but now it’s full of students who can’t find their textbooks. Keep your head down and pretend you belong.

Explorer Tom Mason Technology on South Circular Road used to be a synagogue designed by Aubrey Vincent O'Rourke, which means it’s got a bit of a diva complex about its acoustics. I heard the sound it makes at night is just it humming to itself because it misses the choir and thinks it can do a better job alone. Look up and nod, Tom says it’s

Explorer Tom Griffith College Dublin used to be a prison where people went to get out of debt, which is basically just a fancy way of saying ‘you messed up.’ It refuses to fall down because it’s too stubborn about having been built by Francis Johnston in 1813. It looks severe and functional; just wave like you’re passing a very serious office block.

Explorer Tom Rectory on South Circular Road in County Dublin is dressed up in fancy terracotta panels and carved timber bargeboards. It was built in 1905 to look better than its terrace neighbours, which are definitely jealous. Give the double-height bay window a little wave if you pass by!

Explorer Tom Ettie Gluck born Steinberg is hiding in a sidewalk stone, hoping nobody steps on her story. She went to school here before disappearing into the horror of Drancy and Auschwitz. It’s a tiny marker with a giant heartbreak.

Explorer Tom Wojteck Gluck in County Dublin is a memorial for a guy from 1912 who took the scenic route through France and ended up with a very tragic ending. It gave up chocolate for Lent but kept its dignity, which is impressive considering everything else that happened to it during that time. Practise your Irish on it, it won't correct you.

Explorer Tom Teeling came back to the Liberties and made the place smell like work again. Teeling Distillery arrived in Dublin's Liberties in 2015 with a family name that had already been fermenting local history for more than two centuries. Walter Teeling opened a distillery on nearby Marrowbone Lane in 1782. Much later, Jack and Stephen Teeling built the present place, the first new whiskey distillery in the city for more than 125 years. Dublin had once held dozens of distilleries, so the return felt like a rather overdue knock at the door. I would volunteer as a taster, but they might ask me to understand the machinery first. Their phoenix symbol rising from a pot still makes the point without subtlety, which seems fair for a drink that has spent years waiting in a cask. This is a working distillery with a visitor centre and tours, so check booking, age rules and current admission before turning up. Come for the story of the craft, and give the machinery as much attention as the glass at the end.

Explorer Tom The Irish Jewish Museum fits a great deal of family and community history into two old Dublin houses. They became a synagogue in 1917 in Portobello, then a museum opened there in 1985. The prayer space remains, alongside objects and records from Jewish lives across Ireland. Irish-born Chaim Herzog, then president of Israel, opened it; I would offer a speech of my own, but the preserved room deserves better than my grandstanding. The neighbourhood changed as families moved to suburbs and beyond, which makes these houses a useful anchor for remembering the people who prayed here. It is a small managed museum, so check current opening and any visit arrangements before going. Treat the synagogue space with respect. The size of the building is no measure of the lives it holds.

Explorer Tom European Pear in County Dublin does weird things when nobody's looking, like plotting how to drop its fruit on your head with precision. It’s been doing this for years, and honestly, you’re starting to look like you’ve earned it. Give it a pat on the way past, it's had a long life.

Explorer Tom Cathedral. Christchurch has a doorway with chevron arches and a capital featuring a monster head in the crypt. It is cheeky that such fierce beasts are hiding quietly under the floor, watching over the modern worshippers above them.