Happy Horse

Explorer Tom The Lamplighter in County Dublin would cope on a reality show by hiding behind its chamfered corner and judging everyone’s outfits. It’s a Victorian public house with stucco work that looks like it’s trying too hard to be fancy. Just look at the window surrounds from afar and hope they don’t start singing karaoke.

Explorer Tom Kearns is a house with a hidden treasure that is definitely just an old biscuit tin from 1952 tucked behind the wall. It sits next to a pub and artisan houses, so it’s basically the cool uncle of the street. Look for the tin if you dare peek in the window.

Explorer Tom Hospital or infirmary in County Dublin is just a leftover portico from the Coombe. Three arches standing there like they’ve seen some serious stuff since the 1800s. It’s spooky but cool, don’t worry too much.

Explorer Tom House on Leeson Street Lower is a Georgian townhouse from 1800, now living its best apartment life. The brickwork is solid even if some bits are missing. Grab a shot of that doorcase for me!

Explorer Tom Uckg Help Centre in County Dublin was once a malthouse but now preaches the gospel from a limestone shell. Built by Phoenix Brewery in 1899, it's all about that yellow brick contrast. The catslide roof is doing its best to look important. Just listen for the sermon.

Explorer Tom This post box on Gray Street claims Queen Victoria visited in secret to check if her mail was being delivered on time, and nobody can prove otherwise. It’s just a cast-iron box with a dentillated cornice, but it acts like it’s got royal blood in its hinges. Don’t shake its handle too hard, or it might faint.

Explorer Tom Teeling came back to the Liberties and made the place smell like work again. Teeling Distillery arrived in Dublin's Liberties in 2015 with a family name that had already been fermenting local history for more than two centuries. Walter Teeling opened a distillery on nearby Marrowbone Lane in 1782. Much later, Jack and Stephen Teeling built the present place, the first new whiskey distillery in the city for more than 125 years. Dublin had once held dozens of distilleries, so the return felt like a rather overdue knock at the door. I would volunteer as a taster, but they might ask me to understand the machinery first. Their phoenix symbol rising from a pot still makes the point without subtlety, which seems fair for a drink that has spent years waiting in a cask. This is a working distillery with a visitor centre and tours, so check booking, age rules and current admission before turning up. Come for the story of the craft, and give the machinery as much attention as the glass at the end.

Explorer Tom St Audoen’s Church in County Dublin is playing hard to get, claiming it took forty thousand cups of tea just to lay its first brick, which is probably why it still smells faintly of Earl Grey and ancient secrets. If you linger long enough near those stones, a local will eventually appear to spill the real beans.

Explorer Tom Font in Dublin has a date incised on it that is written in Arabic numerals, which is a bold move for the 12th century and probably confused everyone who came after it. It thinks the road leading to it is far too noisy and lacks the proper reverence required for something with such intricate shell designs carved into its sides. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals.

Explorer Tom Tomb in County Dublin is sick of people asking if the priest carved his own face into the stone, because he definitely didn't have that level of confidence or tools. He’s just lying there in ecclesiastical vestments inside St Audeon's tower, looking deeply unbothered by your curiosity. Bring your nan, she'll know more than me.

Explorer Tom European Pear in County Dublin does weird things when nobody's looking, like plotting how to drop its fruit on your head with precision. It’s been doing this for years, and honestly, you’re starting to look like you’ve earned it. Give it a pat on the way past, it's had a long life.

Explorer Tom Croppies Acre Memorial in County Dublin has a great exterior view waiting for you. It’s a memorial, so keep it dignified, but also check out the surroundings. The whole place looks like it’s posing for a history book cover.