Steps in John Street Upper

Explorer Tom Cobbles in Cork City on Dominick Street are mostly gone, leaving only sad limestone ghosts behind. They were once the stars of the street, now they’re just concrete replacements with amnesia. Sit on one if you dare and count your regrets.

Explorer Tom Punche's Bridge Monument is just two plaques pretending to be a bridge from 1782. It marks where water used to flow before they paved it over. A little bit of history hiding in plain sight on Carroll’s Quay.

Explorer Tom Factory in Cork City has red brick, render, and slate all fighting for attention on one facade. It’s got a carriage arch that probably hasn’t seen a horse cart since the dinosaurs were around. Now it’s retail, which is a funny twist. Take a pic of the colourful mix; it’s chaotic but cool.

Explorer Tom Factory in Cork City at Carroll's Quay is colorful with red brick and grey limestone mixed with painted render. It’s altered and reduced in size but still looks like a cool patchwork quilt on a street. Bring your camera and appreciate the texture of its history.

Explorer Tom Heineken Murphy's Brewery malt house was built around 1890 and is five storeys high. It used to store barley for that iconic Cork stout, so it’s got a bit of a beer-soaked history to tell you about.

Explorer Tom Out of Afrika! on Pine Street is showing off its timber panelled door and toplight from the gable end. Built in 1870, it’s a corner piece of this mid-19th-century terrace. Give that shopfront a quick wave before you move on!

Explorer Tom Stables in Cork City are former 1850 horse homes that now look like they’re judging your life choices. There’s a weird loading door on the first floor that makes absolutely no sense to anyone who isn’t a horse.

Explorer Tom Ladys Well in Cork City has a shrine with a statue but no visible well anymore. It's not frequented on a holy well nowadays, which is sad. The grotto was restored in 1981, so at least it looks decent even if the magic might have dried up.

Explorer Tom Lavitts Quay is a memorial where, legend has it, a goat once ruled the harbour by eating all the navigation charts before the tide came in. Now it’s just rocks and stories, but if you look closely, you can still see the hoofprints of that terrible beast. Bring your worst joke, the place has heard worse.

Explorer Tom Tourist Office in County Cork is located near St Patrick's Quay, where a bishop once refused to enter because he thought the door was too rude. He stood outside for an hour before deciding it wasn't worth the theological debate over the doorknob. Grand place for a sulk or a snog, your call.

Explorer Tom Father Matthew is a monument to a man who probably had a ghost that was too lazy to haunt it because the paperwork was too complicated and annoying. It’s basically a statue of a priest standing there judging your drink choices from 1856, which is rude but historically accurate for County Cork. Bring sandwiches, the gulls will thank you.

Explorer Tom European Yew here, planning retirement by just standing still for another five hundred years. It says it's saving up leaves for a big trip to the afterlife. Stick around for the light changing, it's a slow burn show.