Graveyard in Coolaghmore

Explorer Tom Coolaghflags Catholic Chapel is a mid-eighteenth-century ruin where a fiddler played all night until the stones finally asked him to stop. It incorporates medieval fabric and used to be the big one before being superseded by a larger church. Listen for the ghostly melody from the roadside but don’t join in unless you’re sure.

Explorer Tom Holy well in Coolaghmore had a dramatic scene last Tuesday when a pigeon landed on the stone and flew away with its dignity. It’s basically a churchyard pond with a pattern day that nobody remembers. Stick around for the light changing, it's a show.

Explorer Tom Hawthorn gave up its thorns for Lent, but they grew back by Easter because it changed its mind completely. Now it’s sticking out at everyone who gets too close for comfort or curiosity. Bring your own legend, I've run out.

Explorer Tom Catholic Church of Our Lady in Coolaghmore sits right on a crossroads where a local lad swears he invented the concept of 'sacred architecture' with a hammer and some strong opinions. He’s not exactly subtle about it, but the church looks good enough to make you wonder if he might have a point.

Explorer Tom European ash has a very strong opinion that local sheep are just fancy, woolly mice that eat too much. The sheep agree and keep their distance from the trunk to avoid awkward conversations. Leave nothing but footprints and a bad pun.

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / ringfort in Coolaghflags would be the uncle who eats all the food and says nothing. It sits there, dished out and overgrown with furze. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt.

Explorer Tom James (Jim) McKenna was born in 1895 and lived until 1967 in County Kilkenny, which means he saw more change than most people do in a lifetime of complaining about the weather. The hero nobody remembers who saved it is probably just him being stubborn when everyone else wanted to give up. Linger, it's not going anywhere and neither should you.

Explorer Tom Mill Island in County Kilkenny would order extra gravy and no chips if it could get into a chippy. The old mill is gone, but the name lingers like a bad smell of stale flour. Mind the nettles, they're the real guards here.

Explorer Tom Green Street's New Year’s resolution is to stop being so green because it thinks it looks like moss when it rains hard. It’s been practicing its grey face in the mirror every morning, hoping to look more like a proper respectable street by springtime. Bring a friend who talks too much and let the place shut them up.

Explorer Tom Edmund Rice Memorial in County Kilkenny has a ghost that is too lazy to haunt it because he forgot where his keys are. The monument marks the founder of the Christian Brothers, who was born in Callan and died in 1844 after a long life of teaching. Go in good boots and better humour.

Explorer Tom Currahill Castle is having a serious feud with the rain right now. Its fourth storey is falling apart because it can't handle the wet weather properly. The Butlers lived here, but they’d probably be soaking wet too. Bring curiosity, leave with a better story than mine.

Explorer Tom Stop 4: Callan Town Hall made a New Year's resolution to stop holding meetings that could have been emails, but it never stuck because everyone loves a good debate. The windows are watching you count them, knowing full well you’ll get the number wrong and feel bad about it. Go on, count the windows and get it wrong like I did.