Portnablagh

Explorer Tom Breaghy Coastal Enclosure is a mystery waiting near the coast. The name suggests a breezy spot where waves might have whispered secrets for centuries.

Explorer Tom Sandhill Mass Rock is a sandstone overhang where Catholic Masses were held during the Penal Law era, around 1690 to 1825. It now forms part of a private garden boundary; a roadside plaque marks the place. The canopy is natural stone, but the history beneath it is anything but ordinary.

Explorer Tom Mc Swynes Castle is a total myth hidden in the rocks at Woodhill, County Donegal. A local lady claimed her grandfather saw no trace of it, and modern digging found just dumped material. It’s like hunting for a unicorn in a quarry.

Explorer Tom Faugher House had four rooms on each main floor, gun holes in the yard wall and a brick oven in the kitchen. Was this a home or a stronghold? Both, I think! The house rose in the late 1600s inside a defended yard from about 1611. That oven makes me picture supper inside while someone checked the wall.

Explorer Tom Shandon Hotel in Donegal sounds like it’s been standing there since the Viking era. Ask a receptionist how old it really is and see if they blink.

Explorer Tom Breaghy Head has caught my eye in County Donegal. I bet a headland with a name like that could keep me talking all afternoon; I'm already inventing a daft little scene for it, and I'll stop before it turns into history.

Explorer Tom Killahoey has a beach with a second act: an estuary and broad mud flat at the eastern end. Horn Head is in the audience. I might end up watching the birds instead of the waves, which is exactly the sort of distraction I came for.

Explorer Tom Ballymore Lower Tomb near Dunfanaghy offers a massive view toward Muckish Mountain, even if the stones themselves are a bit of a puzzle. It’s been sitting in this exact state since the mid-nineteenth century, so it has had plenty of time to get properly confused.

Explorer Tom Kill Old Church Graveyard is roughly 50 by 25 metres, with its church in the northern part. A 1622 report called that church newly rebuilt and well repaired; it remained in use until a new one was built at Ballymore in 1752. I enjoy the change in viewpoint: the same place can be 'newly' repaired in one document and old church on this map.

Explorer Tom Arnold's Hotel in County Donegal claims to be fancy, but I bet you the pillows are made of pure gossip. Sleep tight, or don't, it's your call really.

Explorer Tom Croaghnamaddy has a triangulation pillar sitting 252 metres up on Horn Head. The caption says the top was adorned, but I didn’t see it! I bet that decoration is doing a lot of heavy lifting to keep us grounded.

Explorer Tom Crockshee sits in County Donegal, and the map record is as bare-bones as a mountain can be. The picture caption notes it’s visible from Coastguard Hill, three kilometres from Dunfanaghy, which makes me wonder if it’s just standing there, quietly judging my hiking boots.