Lumberjack Monk

Explorer Tom Bellevue House in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny is gazing at the River Barrow with dramatic flair. It thinks it’s fancy because it overlooks water, but really, it’s just a very posh house standing on a hill. Bring a flask and pretend you live here.

Explorer Tom Saint Peter’s gave up chocolate for Lent but secretly hoarded it in the graveyard behind the fragmentary walls. The tower is just there to remind everyone that even broken things can still make a pretty good landmark. Perfect detour when the satnav hiccups and you need a moment of calm.

Explorer Tom Cross in Graiguenamanagh is the local celebrity, standing out from the crowd with all that intricate carving on every single face. Locals swear if you touch the wrong corner, your luck vanishes faster than a summer thunderstorm. Bring a coin for luck and keep it in your pocket.

Explorer Tom Cross in Graiguenamanagh is where a fiddler played all night long until the stones themselves started dancing around him like crazy people. Only the base survives now, but you can still feel the rhythm pulsing through the ground if you listen really closely and close your eyes tight. Tell the next person you meet it's haunted. It might be.

Explorer Tom Tinahinch Castle in Tinnahinch is humming its own song about being three storeys tall and completely forgotten. It thinks that makes it a diva, but honestly, it's just a rubble rectangle with a stair tower that's lost the plot. Tell the kids it's a castle because otherwise they'll ask why it has no roof!

Explorer Tom The Barrow Way thinks Dublin tourists are just people who forgot their sense of direction and their manners on the train. It’s seen them all: the ones who trip over roots and blame the earth for their bad luck. Linger, it's not going anywhere and neither should you.