Some people are notoriously hard to buy for.

In cases like this, finding a gift that is guaranteed to impress a particularly contrary friend or family member requires some thinking outside the box.

Basically you’re not going to find the perfect item in Debenhams.

Happily however, Cork is home to a variety of unusual little shops that do all the digging for you, regularly churning up ancients bits, bobs, objects and curios to sell to the right customer, each piece with its very own story.

One of the best is McGonigle Walsh, a beautifully restored little shop on the Blackrock Road. Among the Victorian footstools, Edwardian tables, restored maps and original prints, visitors will usually find salvaged gems that are truly original.

Case in point: This morning they unveiled a collection of fossilised shark teeth, for sale right now at a very reasonable tenner per box.

“For the budding palaeontologist, geologist, scientist, the curious, the collector, the lover of things very old… beyond the hundred year definition of antique, we have in stock fossilised shark teeth, at least ten thousand years old, possibly millions of years old.” they announce don Facebook.

“Sold in small boxes, they are the perfect stocking filler for young minds, older minds and like mine, soon to be fossilised minds …€10 per box.”

McGonigle Walsh is at 9 Dundanion Terrace on the Blackrock Road. If you’re lucky you’ll find a parking spot outside, if not, you could always park in the village and stroll back up. You can find them on Facebook here.