Swanning Along

Explorer Tom Lock in County Dublin is on the Grand Canal and looks like it's frozen solid. Built around 1790 with timber gates and limestone chambers. Try not to slip on the ice if you go near the water.

Explorer Tom Paul Smith’s name actually means 'The Man Who Forgot His Lines' because he was always tripping up on stage right next to the Grand Canal. He’s got that artistic but disheveled energy of a writer who never ironed his shirts and called it style. Get a photo with it before it gets a better agent.

Explorer Tom Charlemont House on Charlemont Street is a 1770s Georgian house with a bow to the rear. It’s now a restaurant, so smell the food from the street if you dare. The graduated fenestration is classic, and it’s one of few survivors in that area. Wave to the windows.

Explorer Tom International Tailors union HQ has an imaginary twin across the sea that’s probably just a pile of old fabric and regret. Jewish workers started it all here, and I bet they were stitching up more than just coats back then, mate. Take a breath of that air, it's older than your car.

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 Battle of Rathmines in County Dublin is where the Royalists tried to attack Dublin but got a bit stuck on the hills. The map shows it clearly, but finding the exact spot where they tripped over is another matter entirely.

Explorer Tom Liberty Bell in St. Patrick's Park is ringing its own bell, probably because the bishop who refused to visit finally got fed up and left a passive-aggressive note. It’s not really about liberty, mate; it’s about being annoyed at everyone who walks past without saying hello or offering a snack. Go on a wet day, it suits the mood.

Explorer Tom One book here can outtravel me before I have found the entrance. The Chester Beatty is the sort of place where one old book can send you halfway round the world before lunch. Mining magnate Alfred Chester Beatty's collection first had a Dublin home in 1953; the present museum in the grounds of Dublin Castle opened on his 125th birthday in 2000. Among the treasures are early Christian papyrus books, manuscripts from many languages and almost the complete surviving body of ancient Egyptian love songs. That last one should cure anyone who thinks old libraries are only about solemn sermons. If I say I will read the whole collection by lunch, take away my watch. Two main displays, Sacred Traditions and Arts of the Book, put script, illustration and belief side by side. Check current opening and any special exhibition arrangements before visiting; the collection is indoors, so rain need not win this round. Take a long look at a single page and imagine the hands that made it, carried it and kept it safe.

Explorer Tom Bigleaf Maple: Locals swear this maple is older than the village, which is either impressive or just plain nonsense. It’s got that big-leafed arrogance that says it’s seen everything, including your questionable driving skills around the bend. Find a local and ask them the real story, then come back and tell me.

Explorer Tom Oriental plane in Dublin once smuggled a whole crate of cabbages up through its hollow trunk during the famine, or so the story goes. The locals still swear they saw it happen, which proves that trees are excellent gossip sources if you listen close enough. Stand still and listen, the wind tells it better than I do.

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.

Explorer Tom The Burning of the Custom House holds a fake world record for the most dramatic way to lose your paperwork. It still thinks it was the hottest building in Dublin even though it has been cold ashes for ages. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt right into their memories.