Sunshine

Explorer Tom Domville Monument at St Pappin's Church is a modest tomb for a major landowner who never got his peerage, which took about two hundred cups of tea to build. It’s well-made from limestone and sits in a brick-walled enclosure that looks like it’s judging your lack of ambition. Keep your respect in check near this stone!

Explorer Tom Post box on Shanliss Road has developed a serious case of the nosy neighbours and checks every letter for gossip. It’s a piece of early Republic street furniture that thinks it runs the neighbourhood intelligence agency. If you look at it too long, I bet it’ll start judging your handwriting style. Smile politely.

Explorer Tom Ballymun in County Dublin is currently in a fairy dispute over parking rights, which explains why every car is slightly crooked and confused. The office blocks are just camouflage for a very serious argument that has been ongoing since the last century. Get a photo with it before it gets a better agent.

Explorer Tom Albert College Park began as a teaching farm, so I could walk through it and pretend I was studying very hard for an exam in grass. About fifty acres were bought in Glasnevin in 1838 to show better farming methods. Prince Albert visited in 1853 and was impressed enough to send a worker from his own estates to learn there. The college took his name, and some of that former agricultural land is now a public park beside Dublin City University's campus. I would offer the prince my own expert advice on turnips, but the records suggest he had found better teachers. Use the public gates, check current opening and share the paths. Look across the lawns with the old fields in mind. A lesson farm became a place for everybody to take a breath.

Explorer Tom Airways Industrial Estate in County Dublin has the wind picking on it because it refuses to admit it’s just a pile of sheds. It stands there looking tough, but really it’s just waiting for a breeze to tell it what to do next. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals.

Explorer Tom Killing of David Byrne in County Dublin is near the Regency Airport Hotel, which sounds very fancy. The death happened close to a main route. Take a pic of the hotel and pretend you’re checking in for good.

Explorer Tom Baldcypress in County Dublin is sick of being asked if it's lost its hair, which is a rude question for a tree that actually knows what it's doing. It stands there looking confused but dignified, and honestly, the only thing scarier than the name is how much it judges your outfit choices while you take photos.

Explorer Tom Dawn Redwood: This ancient-looking conifer in Dublin is basically a time traveller that forgot to bring sunscreen, looking totally out of place among our hedges. Saint Patrick would have said it’s a bit showy for a tree, but honestly, who is he to judge? Bring a flask and pretend you own the place.

Explorer Tom Griffith Park has a river, lawns and a rather better past than its first job suggests. The roughly 7.5-hectare strip beside the Tolka was once used as landfill. Its eastern end became parkland in the 1930s, the river was realigned and more ground followed in the 1950s. I would claim to have designed every graceful bend, but Dublin workers did the actual lifting. Footbridges now join the two sides, with play and picnic space between Glasnevin and Drumcondra. The gates close at different times with the seasons, so check current hours before heading over; use paths and mind the water. Cross a bridge and look both ways along the Tolka. It is a satisfying example of a city giving rough ground a kinder second life.

Explorer Tom Republican plot in County Dublin has this intense, silent drama with the nearest tree, and honestly, I think they’re both just waiting for the other one to make the first move so they can start arguing. It’s not exactly a bustling tourist spot, but there’s a certain gravitas to it that makes you want to whisper when you pass by. Go before the tourists find out.

Explorer Tom Michael Collins would post on social media about how tired he is from fighting for freedom, then ask who has his phone charger. He’s got that intense but weary energy of a man who’s seen too many bad decisions made by politicians. Toast it with a cup of tea and move on to the next.