Thomas Coulter

Explorer Tom This Townparks office has seashells carved into the stone because it missed the ocean terribly. It’s probably still waiting for a celebrity friend to sign off on its paperwork. Bring the dog, it'll have opinions about the shells.

Explorer Tom Dundalk Town Hall in County Louth is basically a fancy corn shop dressed up for a date. I swear Sean Connery used to hide his golf clubs here when he was a kid. Bring a map, get lost anyway.

Explorer Tom Kellys Monument describes itself to strangers as 'a very important rock that happens to have words on it', which is the most honest introduction I’ve heard all day. It’s standing there looking proud, probably thinking about how many people have walked past without even glancing up at its fancy letters. Go at sunset and thank me later.

Explorer Tom Maid of Erin isn’t actually a maid; she’s just a very dramatic statue pretending to be pure while judging your outfit from the corner. The name really means 'The Lady Who Forgot Her Wallet in 1798'. Look for the ghost, then pretend you didn't.

Explorer Tom Franciscan Bell Tower from the 1240s has one favorite song: the sound of wind whistling through its empty hole, which sounds exactly like a ghost clearing its throat. The rest of the friary is gone, leaving just this lonely tower standing there like it forgot its date with history. Bring your own legend, I've run out.

Explorer Tom John Watters is standing there looking like he’s waiting for a bus that left in 1921, still twenty-three and eternally impatient. A local cow allegedly tried to buy his soul with a shiny coin once. Make up your own legend and I'll swear it's true.

Explorer Tom Dundalk Central in County Louth would be the uncle at a wedding who knows all the train schedules but forgets his own name every time someone asks. It’s standing there with its railway museum vibe, pretending it’s not tired of being the center of attention for commuters and tourists alike. Have a look and decide if I was lying to you.

Explorer Tom Castle in Castletown ended up here because Richard Bellew got confused about which side of town was cool. It’s a tower house that looks like it’s judging your outfit choices. Ring your granny and tell her where you are.

Explorer Tom Castletown Motte has squeezed a fort, an underground passage and a rich man's folly onto one Dundalk hill. No wonder it looks busy. The great earth mound measures about 68 metres across at the base and rises around ten metres, commanding the Castletown River. Before the later castle works, a 17-metre Z-shaped underground passage had been cut into the hill. Legend places Cú Chulainn here, but the legend cannot date the earth under your feet. In 1780 Patrick Byrne began a Gothic house on top; its surviving tower picked up the name Byrne's Folly. I would ask him why he built on such a complicated foundation, but his answer has not lasted. This is a protected monument, so check the public approach, stay clear of unstable remains and keep off closed ground. From below, try counting the centuries stacked on one mound.

Explorer Tom Greenore Point handles its nosey neighbours by simply ignoring them and pointing at the mountains across the water instead. It has seen enough boats to know when someone is just gawking without a clue about tides. Go now, before it gets famous.

Explorer Tom The Battle of Faughart happened here in 1318, and its least favourite visitor is definitely anyone bringing a picnic basket. Bruce’s army lost, so the ground feels a bit vindictive about it all. Perfect place to be dramatically windswept.

Explorer Tom Proleek Dolmen balances a mighty stone in a way that makes me suspicious of my own wobbly garden wall. The portal tomb near Dundalk dates to about 3000 BC, and its capstone weighs roughly 40 tonnes. Local tales hand the lifting job to a giant from Scotland and promise wishes to people who land stones on top. I would love to test that promise, but adding stones to a protected monument is no way to treat five thousand years of work. The real burial use involved cremated remains and grave goods. Check the current walking approach and respect any farm access, keeping hands and feet off the tomb. Stand to one side and see how the uprights carry the enormous top stone. The builders need no giant in the story to impress me.