Ceannan Court

Explorer Tom Gortlee Presbyterian Church was built in 1785 and remodelled in 1904, but it’s now out of use. The simple hall-type design reflects the restrained doctrine of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, with a central pulpit under which is a communion table. The graveyard to the site contains a collection of gravemarkers of both recumbent and upstanding types.

Explorer Tom Church of the Irish Martyrs in Letterkenny has a roof lantern up top and bronze fish beside the font. It opened in 1994 and is apparently the only church in Ireland dedicated to the Irish martyrs. Those fish have the best view of everyone coming through the door, I reckon.

Explorer Tom Mount Errigal Hotel sits on a mountain pretending to be humble. Three stars? I'd give it four just for the view of me being stuck up there! Pick a stone, any stone, and invent its biography.

Explorer Tom PoleStar Monument is pointing at nothing but the sky, which is fair enough since I'm lost anyway. Get there early and have it all to yourself before some influencer shows up with a selfie stick and ruins the vibe.

Explorer Tom Costa in Letterkenny is selling coffee that wakes up the dead faster than a shock. Grab a latte before they change their hours and lock you out! Spot the oldest stone and give it a name.

Explorer Tom Battlefield in Ballyboe Lisenan in County Donegal is another patch of land where things went sideways centuries ago. Now it’s just a quiet field with a lot to say if you listen. Linger, it's not going anywhere and neither should you.

Explorer Tom Battle of Farsetmore in County Donegal is where Hugh O'Donnell kicked Shane O'Neill's backside into the River Swilly. Rumour has it a local goat watched from a cliff, heartbroken her mate picked a fight instead of romance. Give it a pat on the way past, it's had a long life.

Explorer Tom Dry Arch Monument in County Donegal is made of steel and stone, celebrating workers who probably missed all their weekends for this. It’s a shiny tribute to hard work and stubbornness. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt completely at the details.

Explorer Tom Conwal Wheeled Cross Slab is a tiny, battered fragment that survived the mess of a 1968 tidy-up. It’s just the top half of a wheeled cross, weathered smooth on the cairn. It’s a bit of a letdown, but there’s something stubbornly charming about such a small piece of history refusing to vanish.

Explorer Tom Godfrey O'Donnell Graveslab claims to be the final resting spot of a guy who died in 1258. It’s got a wheeled-cross with some fancy interlace that looks like Celtic knotting meets a bicycle wheel. The corner is broken, but the carving is still sharp enough to make you wonder if Godfrey was actually into cycling.

Explorer Tom European Yew in County Donegal is a yew, which means it’s tough, old, and probably poisonous if you look at it wrong. It’s the kind of tree that survives empires and bad haircuts. Bring your own legend, I've run out, make up a story about a dragon living in its branches.

Explorer Tom Rowan in County Donegal is hiding because it thinks it wards off witches, but I'm pretty sure it just hates the rain. It needs permission to exist properly. Ask it politely if it wants a cup of tea.