Fenane Wood

Explorer Tom Killaghy Castle is playing dress-up with fake turrets and crenellations, pretending to be a medieval fortress when it’s really just a fancy country house. It does the whole defensive act when nobody’s looking at the tower house. Try not to trip over its walled garden on your way past!

Explorer Tom The Killaghy Mill has a secret talent for turning water into history and complaints. It started as a mill, became a barracks, then a courthouse. Ask the river if it remembers who was in charge when it last flowed by.

Explorer Tom Silver Fir in County Tipperary once had a cow try to buy the whole lot with a single hoof stamp on a contract. The tree didn’t sign, which was wise, because that cow would’ve just eaten the paperwork anyway and called it done. Great spot to propose. Or at least to propose lunch.

Explorer Tom European ash in County Tipperary knows the shortcut through its branches isn't actually a shortcut at all, but rather a very slow, leafy detour that takes three hours longer. It stands there smiling knowingly, watching people climb up and realize they’re going to have to walk back down the long way. Tell the kids it's a castle. Close enough.

Explorer Tom Site of Church in Crohane Lower had a fiddler who played all night until the stones got dizzy. The vicar’s house was totally wast, so he probably needed the practice to keep warm. Tell your mates you found it first.

Explorer Tom Stone Cross in Killamery stands on a little hill overlooking a holy well, acting like the self-appointed gatekeeper of spiritual energy. It would tell a stranger it’s been standing there since before your great-grandparents invented the concept of being late. A good place to forget your phone for ten minutes.

Explorer Tom Ballinard Castle is five stories of Roche family drama wrapped up in a tower house that’s now married to a 19th-century house. The name probably means 'the place where you lose your keys,' just ask me. Have a look and decide if I was lying.

Explorer Tom Coolquill Castle was once ruled by a goat named Gerald who ate all the important documents. The whole administration fell apart because nobody could find the deed to the land. Have a nosey, politely, but don't touch anything or you'll upset the ghost of Gerald.