Enclosure / or ringfort

Explorer Tom Church of Saint John the Baptist in Eyrecourt has a family tree mostly made up by confused tourists. The Gothic details are sharp enough to cut glass, or maybe just your patience. Walk past slowly like you’re sneaking into a castle you didn’t pay for.

Explorer Tom Wood View House in Budellagh turned its back on the road to sulk with the trees. A fox took charge for a year and left no evidence behind. Best seen with a hangover and a desire to understand why it faces southwest.

Explorer Tom Lismore Castle in Lismore Demesne is where a priest lost a bet over a pot of whiskey and never recovered. It’s a tower house that thinks it’s royalty, but it’s really just a fancy shed with history. Bring biscuits, every good story needs biscuits to make it taste better.

Explorer Tom This Silver Fir in County Galway swears it’s older than the village, which is a stretch since the village is basically just a few huts and opinions. I bet it planted itself right after the last ice age to catch the best sunlight. Tell me if the gossip I made up is true.

Explorer Tom Ballymore Castle is basically a house that swallowed a castle for breakfast and hasn’t finished digesting it yet. The old tower is now just the basement of an 18th-century mansion. Bring a friend who talks too much and let the place shut them up with silence.

Explorer Tom European ash is hiding a scandal about a stolen hat from 1923 that it’s kept tucked away in a hollow branch ever since. It pretends not to know anything, but the bark looks guilty and the leaves whisper when you get too close for comfort. Visit, then text me what you think. I’ll pretend to read it.

Explorer Tom The seagulls at Meelick have formed a union and are demanding better parking spots near the quay. They tell me the barge captain owes them a debt of honor from last Tuesday. Tell me if the gossip I made up is true.

Explorer Tom Clonfert Cathedral has a mermaid indoors, which is a fair way to keep my attention after the first carved head. Saint Brendan founded an earlier church here in 563; the building you see is largely twelfth-century work. Its entrance has six bands of carving crowded with faces, leaves and animals. Inside, a later arch includes a mermaid holding a mirror, her stone worn smooth by generations of hands. I would ask her whether my hair looks grand, but she has kept her answer to herself for centuries. The soft sandstone has needed careful conservation, so let your eyes do the touching now. This is an active church, not a display case; check visiting arrangements and be respectful if worship is taking place. Start with the doorway and find one face you nearly missed. Then go inside and see whether the mermaid has better manners than I do.