BLARNEY CASTLE

and GARDENS

I am certain you have heard of the Blarney Castle and the infamous BLARNEY STONE, but do you know the story behind the "Blarney"?

Well, it seems that Queen Elizabeth I had wanted the land owners to pay taxes to England. Nay-Nay said the people. So, Queen Elizabeth sends the Earl of Leicester to take possession of the Blarney Castle. Whenever the Earl tried to negotiate the surrender of the Castle, the occupants were able to explain a delay by offering banquets and flowery speeches of loyalty to Elizabeth, or some other eloquent reason. It was one delay after another until Queen Elizabeth went ballistic, shouting "This is all Blarney!". Thus, the term was created to mean someone with a glib tongue is said to have "kissed the Blarney stone."

Now, I had no plans to kiss the Blarney Stone as I had been told that at night, Irish boys would climb the tower and pee on the stone.

I can say without hesitation, they cannot access the tower at night and so, YES, I did kiss the Blarney Stone.

Let's start with the Castle. Oh, Boy, talk about a climb.

The Castle is quite imposing and as you join the mass of tourists in a single file line climbing slowly each step around and around. The walls are 15 feet thick and the stairs take you up 120 feet skyward. The steps are marble and are smooth from centuries of wear.

You can see where the flooring would have been constructed. Notice the ledges at the various openings? This is where long strong wooden poles would have been laid to support the narrower planks used as the flooring.

This is the children's room which is quite large. Their schooling by a religious scholar would have been on the same floor. It was probably easier to control the children by keeping them on the same floor and having such a large room to entertain themselves.

What a view from the top and notice the size of the land - it's huge!

Blarney Castle seems to grow skyward right out of the rock. The workmanship that it must have taken is amazing.

Blarney Castle was built by Cormac McCarthy in 1446.

"Cormac McCarthy?"

Yes, the same Cormac McCarthy that built Cormac's Chapel at the Rock of Cashel.

These are the ground level openings to the castle.

It is also the way to the dungeon, which some-times doubled as a kennel.

These steps are slanted and incredibly slippery even when dry. Trust me!

Blarney is so much more than a Castle, it has extensive lands and contains areas such as the Lake Walk, Woodland Walk, Riverside Walk and the Forest Trail Walk. I immediately headed off to the Rock Close (part of the Forest Trail) and stayed there for hours. The plants are amazing, some of them exotic and there are sculptures spread throughout the grounds.

I came across the Wishing Steps, which you could easily miss since there is a boulder in front of the opening at the top, but plenty of room to go around it. Walk down the wishing steps to a small waterfall. I made a wish while walking down and then threw a coin into the pool.

The Witches Stone. . . . any family resemblance?

The Druid's Cave. The entrance leads to a comfortable interior with a small opening at the top for circulation and cooking smoke to escape. I just need a nice sleeping bag and provisions!

The Witches' Kitchen. Separate from the Druid's Den.

The Druid's Circle and the Seven Sisters.

Legend has it that a King of Munster had seven daughters and two sons. During a great battle, the sons' led the army to victory but at a high price - as they both were killed.

As their bodies were brought home, the King instructed his men to go to the Druid Circle and knock over two stones representing his two sons. Thus, the Seven Sisters remain standing guard to their two lost brothers.

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Small well placed metal sculpture.

Leaves large enough to be an umbrella!

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