Cross in Conwal

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 Conwal Old Church was already described as ruinous in 1622. The survey says a central ivy-covered section of the south wall and lower courses of the north wall preserve original fabric; other walls were much rebuilt. I had to separate old stone from later repair before making sense of this ruin.

Explorer Tom Rockhill House is the name attached to its main gateway: two painted piers between curved stone walls. It may date from around 1853. I thought the name promised a whole house; this entry gives me the opening act instead.

Explorer Tom Battlefield in Ardahee in Donegal gets picked on by the wind because it refuses to admit who actually won that fight centuries ago. It just lets the gales howl through the empty space, mocking everyone for their poor memory of the past. Bring a friend who talks too much and let the place shut them up.

Explorer Tom Battle of Scarrifholis in County Donegal would walk into any job interview and say it has excellent conflict resolution skills, despite mostly just standing around looking confused while cannons went off. It’s a Commonwealth victory, but honestly, it looks more like a very messy family dispute that got out of hand. Tell the kids it's a castle. Close enough.

Explorer Tom Tir na Nog sounds like a name invented by someone who had one too many pints. Bet they’ve got a special named after a ghost there. Tell it a joke, it's been a long time since anyone did.

Explorer Tom Oldtown Bar in County Donegal is likely where all the locals go to complain about the weather until their voices give out. There is probably a hero nobody remembers who saved it from total collapse years ago. Bring your own legend, I've run out of good ones.

Explorer Tom Gregory Hill stands in County Donegal, keeping its access details firmly unknown. The name sounds like a word you’d mumble into your breakfast cereal, yet it sits there as a solid geological fact without offering a single helpful footpath.

Explorer Tom Donegal County Museum tells a long story inside a building that has one of its own: part of Letterkenny's former workhouse. I would give the old stone walls their due, then follow the county displays from prehistory onward. One building can hold far more than one century.