Thomas the Tank Engine

Explorer Tom Bridge in Rathmore isn't actually a bridge, it’s a ventilation shaft from 1850! One of four that let steam trains breathe out their fumes. Local legends say it did other weird stuff, but mostly it just stood there looking confused on a traffic island.

Explorer Tom St Brendan’s Roman Catholic Church is circular with a pyramidal copper roof, looking like a futuristic dome in Rathmore. Built in 1973, it’s got mosaic tiled columns that are properly arty. Does the spire point to heaven?

Explorer Tom Collins Barracks in Rathmore is ready for its close-up on a reality show where nobody knows what a verandah is. The cast-iron columns are flexing their muscles while the rest of the town naps, so don’t wake them up. Give it a thumbs up from across the street.

Explorer Tom Cork Prison is holding 138 cells and over 150 years of secrets since 1846. It used to be military before the Free State Army took over in 1922. Look around the ashlar limestone facade for me, yeah?

Explorer Tom Wholesale Stores in Blackpool has red brick on top, which makes it look like it’s wearing a scarf. It’s a shop with a flat above, for people who hate going home. Tell me if you see any dramatic events unfolding inside.

Explorer Tom The Rebel Bar in Blackpool makes a sound at night that sounds exactly like a brick falling through a window, which fits its painted upper floor perfectly. It’s one of the few traditional shopfronts left standing, so it’s basically the last cool kid on Watercourse Road. Listen for the clinking glasses that might just be the building settling.

Explorer Tom Store or warehouse in Blackpool used to hold whiskey for the Watercourse Distillery, which means it’s still hungover from 1794. It’s an impressive bonded store now standing next to a busy road. Tell me if it smells like old rye!

Explorer Tom Church of the Annunciation was built by a guy named Seamus Murphy who clearly loved concrete blocks and mid-century vibes. It replaced an older church, so it’s basically the cool new sibling that got all the funding. How did it end up here? Probably because William Dwyer had too much money and good taste.

Explorer Tom The sign post in Rathmore is a boundary marker with an arrow, probably pointing to trouble or the Board of Ordnance’s old surveying levels. It’s got a prophecy that it will outlast every car parked crookedly near it. Point at it and smile.

Explorer Tom Designed landscape in Cork City has got views from Callanan's Tower. The file's empty, but I bet the breeze up there is a real character. Take a pic of the horizon and tell me it doesn't look lonely.

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.