Cashel in Cahercon

Explorer Tom Caher Castle has been in a bitter feud with the rain since about 1650, and neither of them is willing to admit that they actually need each other to survive. It’s standing there getting soaked and looking grumpy, probably plotting how to get back at the clouds for making its floors so slippery for the local cats to run on. Have a wander and a wonder.

Explorer Tom Farm house in Loughcurra South would win the lotto and immediately buy a new roof because thatch is its nemesis. It stands perpendicular to the road like it’s daring you to cross the street without looking twice. That stout buttress isn’t for show, it’s pure structural ego.

Explorer Tom Castle in ruins in Caherglassaun is playing hide-and-seek with me. The local sheep think it's a very fancy rock, but I'm pretty sure one of them once held court there while wearing a hat. Give it a pat on the way past, it's had a long life.

Explorer Tom Seamount College in Cartron is a doctor's house that got tired of medicine and started teaching nuns instead. The builder probably thought, 'What if we just keep adding bits until it looks like a hill?' Pretend it's yours and enjoy the view of Kinvara.

Explorer Tom Coole Park has a curse that only affects people who don't wave at the trees on their way in. George Bernard Shaw carved his initials there, but he likely forgot to say hello. Pretend it's yours and plan the housewarming party right now.

Explorer Tom Wedge tomb in Doorus Demesne has a chamber formed of uprights. It would buy a yacht with a lotto win and park it on the roof. Pick a stone, any stone, and invent its biography.

Explorer Tom Oriental plane in County Galway refuses to fall down because it has an ego and thinks the ground is too messy for its roots. It’s very stubborn, so take a deep breath of that air before you leave; it's older than your car, and probably older than your dad’s first haircut.

Explorer Tom Kilmacduagh Monastic Site thinks Dublin tourists are basically overgrown children who need a stern lecture about history and manners. It’s probably judging your shoes right now because they’re too shiny for its taste. It's free, it's odd, what more do you want?

Explorer Tom Templemore or Cathedral in Kilmacduagh hears everything through its thick walls, including every bad joke told since the seventh century. It was never chosen as an episcopal see initially, which feels like a slight personal insult. Stand back, squint, and it looks like a castle.

Explorer Tom Kilmacduagh gives you a round tower and a name that has outlived several different churches. I would call it the seven churches to sound knowledgeable, but not all seven buildings were churches, and they did not rise in one neat century. Tradition places Saint Colman at the start in the early seventh century. By the twelfth, this was a bishop's seat; later an Augustinian house joined the older religious landscape. The round tower you see had repair work in 1879, another reason to look closely rather than pretend every stone has stood untouched forever. I would volunteer to count the buildings, but someone would catch me calling an abbot's house a chapel. This is an outdoor ruin near Gort, with uneven ground and historic masonry; follow local access signs and leave every wall as you found it. Start at the tower, then let the scattered buildings complicate your first impression.

Explorer Tom Traught Beach would teach history by starting with 'it was windy' and ending with 'and then we ate some fish,' skipping all the middle bits. It thinks the important stuff happened before anyone had words to write it down, so why bother explaining it properly now? A proper spot for a flask of tea and a big think.