Blarney Castle, standing guard over a multitude of spring crocus's
bursting out on the grounds along the path to the castle.
bursting out on the grounds along the path to the castle.
After a great breakfast from our Lanesville B&B hosts,
we were off to Blarney Castle
located just minutes away.
we were off to Blarney Castle
located just minutes away.
BLARNEY CASTLE.
Ever heard the saying, "That's just a lot of blarney."? Well the story goes that the evasive McCarthy, Lord of Blarney, who was quizzed by the Earl of Locester, Queen Elisabeth 1's emissary regarding a dispute about land ownership, never got to the point. When the emissary reported the stalemate back to the queen she apparently blurted out, "But this is just more blarney!"
According to Wikipedia, "...the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. The noted Blarney Stone is found among the machicolations of the castle."
KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE:
Apparently, everyone knows that those who kiss the Blarney stone are magically endowed with with the gift of the gab! This stone kissing thing is one of Ireland's very popular activity for both tourists and the residents of the Island. We were encouraged to come early as the lines can stretch along the top of the fortification and down the narrow winding castle stairs.
Could this be the reason the Irish have this reputation of having the gift of the gab? Hard to tell what the reason might be, possibly most of the population has kissed the Blarney Stone or could it be the fact that most of the population inhabits the pub most evenings and that the gift of the gab comes from nothing like kissing a stone but the "spirits" imbibed. Just saying!
Ever heard the saying, "That's just a lot of blarney."? Well the story goes that the evasive McCarthy, Lord of Blarney, who was quizzed by the Earl of Locester, Queen Elisabeth 1's emissary regarding a dispute about land ownership, never got to the point. When the emissary reported the stalemate back to the queen she apparently blurted out, "But this is just more blarney!"
According to Wikipedia, "...the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. The noted Blarney Stone is found among the machicolations of the castle."
KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE:
Apparently, everyone knows that those who kiss the Blarney stone are magically endowed with with the gift of the gab! This stone kissing thing is one of Ireland's very popular activity for both tourists and the residents of the Island. We were encouraged to come early as the lines can stretch along the top of the fortification and down the narrow winding castle stairs.
Could this be the reason the Irish have this reputation of having the gift of the gab? Hard to tell what the reason might be, possibly most of the population has kissed the Blarney Stone or could it be the fact that most of the population inhabits the pub most evenings and that the gift of the gab comes from nothing like kissing a stone but the "spirits" imbibed. Just saying!
The whole endeavor to kiss this amazing stone is not easy! You have to climb a lot of stairs to the very top of the castle itself. They did not have elevators in those days, and have not been included in the renovation plans of them either. Above you see some of the stairs you will need to climb. If you have any claustrophobic issues, you have to leave them behind. You will have to climb to the very top of the wall, past the "Great Hall", the Earl's bedroom, and the Young Ladies room. Finally you will reach the very top of the wall, on the right you see Larry walking towards the far wall ahead and in the center of that is the stone that will release your tongue. You will be able to deal with any social situation once you kiss this stone. Amazing!
But, the difficulties are not yet over. Now you have to actually kiss the stone! So how hard could that be you ask...let me explain.
But, the difficulties are not yet over. Now you have to actually kiss the stone! So how hard could that be you ask...let me explain.
Let's analyze the photo above. The stone you kiss is on the lower section of the upright wall between the two vertical parallel black metal hand holding bars you see in front on the person with the red jacket. Also, you need to know there is a gap between the wall the cameraman is standing on and that upright wall we just spoke about. The stone you kiss is below the level of the surface of this wall you see the cameraman standing on. Here is what you have to do....you sit down facing away from the upright wall, between the two bars. You lean back, lying down on your back. You grab the two upright bars you see for support and wiggle yourself over the open space hundreds of feet above the ground, towards the upright wall. Meanwhile the staffer sitting there will be holding on to you so you don't fall through this gap as you lean your head back and down to kiss this stone with your face in an upside down position.
I know, it looks scary and dangerous but there are bars in place to keep you from falling, nevertheless it can be frightening, and you can lose a lot of loose change as you are actually, to some degree, upside down as you kiss the stone. The safety bars will not catch your money, and with your head facing the stone in an upside down position, you won't even see your cash sail through the air and disappear!
Another way you can lose some change here is due to that camera you see above the head of the seated figure with his back to you. When you make your way back to the ground floor they will show you kissing the stone and you will be tempted to purchase it as a record of the rest of your life proceeding from this point with the gift of the gab.
Below is a photo from the outside of the wall showing the gap as some other poor soul is leaning over and kissing the stone. I forgot to check the grass below this section of the wall, probably would have found all kinds of change from around the world.
I know, it looks scary and dangerous but there are bars in place to keep you from falling, nevertheless it can be frightening, and you can lose a lot of loose change as you are actually, to some degree, upside down as you kiss the stone. The safety bars will not catch your money, and with your head facing the stone in an upside down position, you won't even see your cash sail through the air and disappear!
Another way you can lose some change here is due to that camera you see above the head of the seated figure with his back to you. When you make your way back to the ground floor they will show you kissing the stone and you will be tempted to purchase it as a record of the rest of your life proceeding from this point with the gift of the gab.
Below is a photo from the outside of the wall showing the gap as some other poor soul is leaning over and kissing the stone. I forgot to check the grass below this section of the wall, probably would have found all kinds of change from around the world.
Before we leave the Blarney Castle I have to show you something we saw as we toured the grounds. It's a huge unique tree. It has two huge "shoulder" type arms and looks like hundreds of years old. Then we found the description you see below. Amazing. (Larry's taking a "selfie" with the tree behind him.)
Speaking about "blarney"...
"Listening, not imitation,
may be the sincerest form of flattery."
Joyce Brothers
"Listening, not imitation,
may be the sincerest form of flattery."
Joyce Brothers
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