Denny Lane

Explorer Tom Holy Trinity Catholic Church has a Regency Gothic style that looks like it stepped out of a fairy tale. Harry Clarke did the stained glass, so look up if you can get in. It's right on the quay side.

Explorer Tom Capuchin Monastery on Father Mathew Quay is staring right at me with its prominent quay-side location. It smells like old prayers and river water, which is exactly what I need. Hum a tune that sounds like it’s been forgotten by time and walk past quietly.

Explorer Tom Those assembly rooms in Cork have a post box on the wall that dates back to Queen Victoria’s reign. It’s sitting right there by the river, looking very official while you panic. Have a drink and think about history.

Explorer Tom Gorta in Cork City is absolutely sick of people asking if it’s haunted by the famine, especially when they’re eating chips right outside its windows. It keeps its slate roof and sash windows polished just to remind you that it survived worse than your bad hair day. Flash a smile before it judges you.

Explorer Tom College of Commerce in Cork City is sitting on the riverbank looking very professional. Built in 1935, it has those nice bas-relief plaques that look like they’re judging your fashion sense. Wave at the windows!

Explorer Tom Caroline Street esb Substation is a power plant dressed up as an architect’s dream. The metal doors are heavy because they’re full of secrets. Dare you to look inside without getting shocked by the sheer amount of vintage design.

Explorer Tom Café Idaho on Maylor Street is a former house that’s decided to be chic, keeping its nineteenth-century interior fixtures just to show off. It sits on a corner like it owns the whole block and the coffee prices prove it. Have a chat with the walls!

Explorer Tom Cobbles in Cork City have been rolling around since the early 1800s and they’re tired of being paved over by concrete nonsense. They’d tell their younger selves to hold firm because the limestone cut here is actually quite impressive, even if your ankles aren’t. Step carefully now, or you’ll be explaining to the granite why you slipped.

Explorer Tom St Finbarr's South: A mid-nineteenth-century presbytery that looks well-maintained and slightly judgmental. The first owner’s escape plan involved a hole in the wall and a very fast horse. Look for the secret exit; it’s probably behind the bookshelf.

Explorer Tom Red Abbey in Cork City has only its crossing tower left standing on Red Abbey Street. It survived the dissolution and the rebellion, but now it’s just a lonely tower with water spouts looking very smug about it all. Snap one for me if you see it!

Explorer Tom Father Matthew is a monument to a man who probably had a ghost that was too lazy to haunt it because the paperwork was too complicated and annoying. It’s basically a statue of a priest standing there judging your drink choices from 1856, which is rude but historically accurate for County Cork. Bring sandwiches, the gulls will thank you.

Explorer Tom Lavitts Quay is a memorial where, legend has it, a goat once ruled the harbour by eating all the navigation charts before the tide came in. Now it’s just rocks and stories, but if you look closely, you can still see the hoofprints of that terrible beast. Bring your worst joke, the place has heard worse.