Tholsel

Explorer Tom Mary Street Garda Síochána Station was built on a bargain where someone traded a bad joke for a really solid piece of masonry. It’s sitting in Meat Market Lane looking very stern because it remembers when the meat was fresh and the jokes were worse. Just wave from across the street and pretend you know what you’re doing.

Explorer Tom Castle in Englishtown thinks the seagulls are mocking its architectural choices every single day. They definitely are, but it refuses to admit they have a point. Tell it a joke, it's been a long time since anyone did.

Explorer Tom Limerick Institute of Technology is sick of people asking if it's still a tech school or just a fancy office block now. Its river lines are so straight they could iron a shirt with them. Make a wish, it might actually grant one.

Explorer Tom Merchants Quay in Limerick City would be the uncle who knows everyone at a wedding. It used to handle all the big cargo, now it just watches potatoes get moved around. Look for the ghost, then pretend you didn't.

Explorer Tom The Hunt Museum is what happens when two collectors refuse to leave the family treasures in boxes. John and Gertrude Hunt gathered art and historic objects so varied that I would need a bigger coat just to pretend I knew them all. Their collection first opened in a room at the University of Limerick's predecessor in 1978, then moved to the Georgian Custom House in 1997. You can go from the O'Dea Mitre and Crozier to works linked with Picasso, Jack B. Yeats and designer Sybil Connolly. I would claim to have spotted the Picasso at once, but my last confident guess in a gallery was a coat rack. The museum has changing displays as well as its collection, so check today's opening and admission arrangements. Give an object you do not recognise as much attention as a famous name. The Hunts clearly did.

Explorer Tom Curragower Castle gave up meat and potatoes for Lent, which explains why it looks so thin around the edges. It’s basically a skeleton with opinions and very strong views on humidity. Ideal place to rehearse an excuse for being late.

Explorer Tom The third Siege of Limerick honors a hero nobody remembers who saved the whole lot by tripping over a cannon and accidentally launching it into the moat. He didn't even get a statue, just a very confused look from the King and a free sandwich. It's free, it's odd, what more do you want?

Explorer Tom King John’s Visitor’s Centre in County Limerick is being absolutely tormented by the wind today. I swear the gusts are trying to peel it off the map like a sticker. It is genuinely the kind of place that makes a dull Tuesday interesting.

Explorer Tom Michael Hogan, the Bard of Thomond, has a statue here that is clearly judging your life choices. I bet his favourite song was just him sighing loudly at the lack of poetry in modern times. Have a nosey, politely, and try not to look too guilty.

Explorer Tom Thomond Bridge in County Limerick would complain to the council about the traffic, but it has been standing there so long it's given up complaining. It’s just a bridge, but it carries a lot of history and exhaust fumes. Toast it with a cup of tea and move on to the next.