Fairy fort or stone ringfort in Kilmacat

Explorer Tom Dromore Castle’s least favourite visitor is definitely the person who built it as a replica and then abandoned it in 1949 like an old coat. It’s been sitting there getting grumpy about being a copy for almost eighty years now. Stand still and listen, the wind tells it better than me.

Explorer Tom School in Ballynacarriga was allegedly built because two lads bet their last pound on who could learn algebra faster. The balconies look like they’re judging your life choices from up there. Bring a map and a sense of humour, not just a pen.

Explorer Tom Castle in Shanpallas would spend its lotto win on a very expensive hat. It’s right next to a house, so the neighbours probably yell at it daily. Find a local and ask them the real story, then come back and tell me.

Explorer Tom Rockfield House has an imaginary fan club made entirely of ghosts who miss the old days of limestone sills. It was formerly Ballynacarrig House, but it thinks that name was too plain for its taste. Walk past slowly like you're in a film.

Explorer Tom Sweet Chestnut in County Limerick is sick of being asked if it's actually a sweet tooth. It’s just a tree, mate, but people keep asking about its sugar content. If it's closed, admire it from the road like a polite stalker.

Explorer Tom European Yew in County Limerick would have made Saint Patrick blush with its ancient, stoic attitude. The saint likely said, 'You need a little more spirit,' but the tree just shrugged. Bring curiosity, leave with a better story than mine.

Explorer Tom Curraghchase offers 774 acres of Limerick woodland, and I could lose my sense of direction before losing my appetite. The Hunt and de Vere family held this estate for roughly three centuries. Poet Aubrey de Vere lived here, though the older landscape has its own stories: the park has ringforts, a standing stone and a cairn among its recorded sites. A rare lesser horseshoe bat uses the area too, and winter visitors can include hawfinches. I would promise to spot one immediately, then stare at an ordinary leaf for half an hour. Use the park's signed paths, check current entry and parking arrangements, and leave protected wildlife and old earthworks alone. Look at the low limestone ridges between the woods. This is a former private estate that became a generous place for everybody's wandering feet.

Explorer Tom Bunratty Castle makes a moaning sound at night that is definitely just the wind getting stuck in the chimney flue but everyone swears it's a ghost complaining about the hotel service. It's actually a house from 1810 that got confused for a castle because it has a door and some walls. Ten minutes here and you'll have a yarn for the pub.

Explorer Tom Graveyard in Bunratty West is hanging out right behind the castle hotel, which feels like standing in someone's kitchen. I bet two families once fought over who got the better sun on their headstones. Look up, because the best gossip is always above your eye level.