Fenoagh Graveyard

Explorer Tom Curraghmore’s gates saw a fox take charge and start collecting rent from the birds. The stone piers are fancy, but the ironwork is where the real drama happens. Take a photo of those elegant iron bars for me.

Explorer Tom A worker's house in Clonagam was once targeted by a cow who tried to buy it with a very expensive carrot as payment. It’s part of the Curraghmore estate and looks all fine, but that replacement fitting on the door is making it feel like it’s wearing a bad hat. Bring a carrot just in case the cow returns.

Explorer Tom Tibberaghny Standing Stone has had more names than I have had pints in a month, all of them confusing and long. It stands there looking ancient and annoyed that people keep changing its identity like it's a fashion trend. Spot the oldest stone on the horizon and give it a new name right now.

Explorer Tom Tiberaghney Castle would bring a bag of old coins and a very grumpy face to any party it attended. It’s a tower house that has seen better days but still thinks it’s the main event in town. Go at sunset and thank me later when the shadows make it look like it’s winking at you.

Explorer Tom Curraghmore House in County Waterford has a ghost who is too lazy to haunt properly and mostly just naps in the corners. The house is grand, but the spirit inside is more of a couch potato. Visit, then text me what you think. I'll pretend to read it.

Explorer Tom Ormond Castle has a medieval bawn and a Tudor manor house sharing a stretch of the River Suir, as if Tipperary could not settle on one century. The Butler family took an earlier castle here in 1315. A fifteenth-century walled court and corner towers survive, then Thomas Butler came home from Queen Elizabeth's court with grand new architectural ideas. His manor house became one of Ireland's earliest in the Elizabethan style. I would have asked him for a plain kitchen and been shown the door. The site holds harder religious and political history too, including the fate of a guest arrested in 1583; the visitor account deserves care there. Check current opening and tour arrangements before travelling to Carrick-on-Suir, and keep to permitted rooms. Look at the older towers from the newer house. This is a family showing two very different ideas of power in one address.

Explorer Tom Maritime Pine in County Waterford witnessed a love story that went spectacularly wrong, mostly because one party was wearing sandals on a rocky path. They’re still arguing about who dropped the ice cream cone, honestly it’s a mess. Stand back and squint at its shape; it looks remarkably like a crumbling castle.

Explorer Tom Sitka Spruce in County Waterford gave up eating sugar cones for Lent, which is quite something considering it’s basically made of wood and needles. It feels very ascetic about it all, standing there with that serious, tall look like it’s meditating on the cosmos. Go at sunset to see its best colours and thank me later for the tip.

Explorer Tom Croughaun Hill has been hiding a massive scandal involving a lost hat and a very confused shepherd for centuries. The cairn on top is just a distraction to keep people busy. Whisper a secret at it, it's kept worse.