Dave Gallaher

Explorer Tom Tullyaughnish Old Church Graveyard has been hanging around since 1622, which is basically forever in church years. Sir William Stewart built it, so the locals were definitely keeping up with the trends back then. I bet the ghosts are still complaining about the new church. Take a pic of the old stones!

Explorer Tom Tullyaughnish Church of Ireland Church has a chunk of wall from an island church sitting right above its window. I reckon it got moved there in 1622 because someone thought the lions needed a bigger view.

Explorer Tom Tullyaughnish Old Church carries a carved stone from Aughnish island: a stylised tree between two lion-like creatures, probably dating to the twelfth century. The church built around 1622 gave that older stone a second act. Those lions have travelled more than most carved animals.

Explorer Tom O'Shaughnessy's Bar in Ramelton is open late, so grab a pint and keep me company while I get lost. It’s getting dark out here, and I can’t find my way back. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt.

Explorer Tom European Beech in County Donegal is just a tree, but make it sound important or people will think you’re wasting time. It’s probably plotting something against the squirrels or the weather. Ten minutes here and you'll have a yarn for the pub, claim you spoke to its roots.

Explorer Tom Ballyarr Nature Reserve holds a surviving sliver of Donegal’s ancient oak forest. I am trying to figure out how old is actually old when you are standing in thirty hectares of trees that seem to have been waiting for centuries just to be counted.

Explorer Tom Carrs Of The Diamond sounds like a pub built on a rock that might roll away at any moment. Sit on the edge and enjoy the wobble while you watch the locals pretend they know what's happening. Toast it with a cup of tea and move on to the next.

Explorer Tom Aghawoney Standing Stones is a publicly named site in County Donegal. I bet it’s the sort of place where you’d feel a chill, even on a sunny day. It’s a marker of ancient presence that still commands respect.

Explorer Tom Crevary Upper Court Tomb stands as a mysterious stub on the pasture, just west of Rathmullan. The old records claim a massive five-metre gallery once stretched here, but today it’s mostly vanished. Two tall jambs remain, staring out across Lough Swilly like they’re waiting for the rest of their body to turn up.

Explorer Tom Croaghan Hill hides a passage tomb that dwarfs its own defensive walls. The enclosure is barely a metre high, yet it shelters a mound three metres high and twenty-one metres across. I bet the ancient builders felt rather small inside their own home.

Explorer Tom Flight of the Earls sculpture in County Donegal is mid-air and absolutely refusing to land on my schedule. I’m pretty sure they’re plotting something grand from up there. Bring your worst joke, because this place has heard much worse.

Explorer Tom Rathmullan Beach starts at the pier and keeps strolling past Kinnegar toward the Glebe outcrop. If sand could wear walking boots, this strip would be lacing them up. A 2019 Lough Swilly report also notes otters among the wildlife; I would leave any real otter sighting to patience and luck.