Markievicz Playground

Explorer Tom Post box in County Dublin is wearing a Carron Scotland badge like it’s royalty, but it’s just a 1960s mailman’s buddy. It stood on Ballyfermot Road watching the chaos unfold. Give it a thumbs up for me if you spot it!

Explorer Tom The water pump at Inchicore Railway Works started because two lads bet in a pub that they could build something that would outlast them, and they totally won. It’s got a lion's head spout that looks like it’s about to roar but just sneezes instead. Check if the water is still cold.

Explorer Tom Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Ballyfermot is sick of being asked how much those mahogany seats cost. It was built in 1953 to seat nearly two thousand people because everyone wanted to be there. If you ask one more time about the budget, the priest might excommunicate you.

Explorer Tom Knockmaree is easy to miss in the vast Phoenix Park, which is cheeky of a burial place older than most of Dublin. Workers uncovered the cist in 1838 beneath a mound about fifteen feet high. Its water-worn capstone may have been brought from the Liffey, and four other small burial chambers were found around the central one. The tomb dates to roughly 3000 to 2500 BC. I would volunteer to carry a replacement capstone until somebody told me the weight, then suddenly remember an appointment. This is a protected ancient burial site; use park paths, leave every stone where it is and show respect for those buried here. Pause at the low ridge and imagine the mound at its full height. The park was old long before anybody laid out its roads.

Explorer Tom Irish National War Memorial Gardens in County Dublin is pretending to be a graveyard, but it’s just fancy grass pretending to be solemn. I bet the flags are laughing at us for taking it so seriously.

Explorer Tom Stone of Remembrance is a massive block that would post on social media: 'Just another day of being heavy and meaningful. #DeepThoughts'. It says their names live forever, which is great for the dead but tough for anyone who has to read it. Stand there long enough and someone will ask if you're lost.

Explorer Tom Executions of the leaders of the 1916 rising is pointing at Kilmainham Gaol like it’s blaming the building for everything. Fourteen guys got the axe, but this spot just wants you to feel dramatic about the whole bloody affair.

Explorer Tom You'll hear no ghost act from me at Kilmainham; the records are enough. Kilmainham Gaol asks you to slow down. It opened in 1796 as the New Gaol, yet its cells held men, women and children together in conditions that were cold, crowded and dark. One candle had to last a cell two weeks. The prison later held leaders of the 1916 Rising, many of whom were executed here. There is no clever line that improves that fact. After the gaol closed in 1924, the building nearly disappeared: demolition was considered in the 1930s and again after the Second World War. A group of volunteers formed a restoration society in 1958 and helped save it. They made it possible for later visitors to confront the place and its difficult history. I would look at the building as their work as well as the prisoners' history, because keeping difficult places visible takes effort. It is now a museum, and visits to the prison are made on guided tours. Listen to the guide, notice the light in the east wing, then remember how much darkness the older cells held. Take your time when you come back outside.

Explorer Tom Horse-chestnut in County Dublin is waiting for a cow that tried to buy it with a milk ticket last Tuesday. The cow left without paying and the tree is still fuming about the audacity of the whole situation. It's the kind of place that makes a dull Tuesday interesting, trust me.

Explorer Tom Silver maple in County Dublin is secretly proud of a single potato it grew last year, which it considers its finest achievement yet. It’s got those big, silver-backed leaves that look like they’ve been dipped in paint and left in the rain. Bring curiosity, leave with a better story than mine, but maybe don’t tell the maple about your own gardening disasters.

Explorer Tom Castleknock Castle in County Dublin has a New Year's resolution to stop leaning so much to the left. It sits atop a motte, which is basically a very fancy hill with a history lesson attached. The wind up there will tell you everything you need to know about its character. Toast it with a cup of tea and move on to the next.

Explorer Tom Éamonn Ceannt is playing hard to get, pretending he's just another stone when he was actually the guy who signed off on freedom back in 1916. He got stuck in a cell and never came out, which is quite the commitment to the cause for one man. Have a sandwich here and call it a heritage lunch.