On Sunday, my second day in Ireland, my tour group left Dublin shortly after breakfast. We then traveled to Co. Kilkenny see the lost town of Jerpoint Park and the church of St. Nicholas.

Artist rendition of the the village; lower right hand corner shows infrared outline of the original village.
Artist rendition of the village; the lower right hand corner shows the outline of the original village.

This was a fun and unique experience, as a family owns not just the sheep farm and house (originally to be servants quarters), but the lost village itself is located on the property. The main road of Jerpoint Park to the house is the old road that ran through the original village, population 250. How many pubs were there in this village? Fourteen. That’s right, folks, there were fourteen pubs to satisfy the thirst of 250 villagers.

Well, actually, not just the villagers – it was designed for the many tourists that came through to visit the Church of St. Nicholas and Jerpoint Abbey.

The church of St. Nicholas.
The church of St. Nicholas.

Who was this St. Nicholas chap and why was this an important stop, you ask? Well, St. Nicholas is buried in that churchyard.

The tomb of St. Nicholas.
The tomb of St. Nicholas.

And this is an artist’s rendition of what he may have looked like, back when he was hale and hearty and very much alive:

St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas.

But we know him as this fellow:

Saint Nick or Santa?
Saint Nick or Santa?

So, in essence, I know where Santa Claus is buried.

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