Blarney Castle, Ireland

It is believed that those that kiss this stone will have the gift of eloquence bestowed upon them. Well the gift of the gab rather being" blarney" which means the gift of pleasent talk, intending to deceive without causing offence. This gift is supposed to last 7 years

Some stories you'll hear is that this was the castle's latrine system.

Anyway I waited my turn in the queue & bent backwards over the railings & placed a smacker on the stone.

the cost for entrance into the castle grounds is (2010) Euro 10 & children Euro 3.50, family of 2 adults & 2 children is Euro 23.50

Open 9.30 to 6.30pm Mon-Sat Sunday until 5.30pm and until sundown during winter months

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OK, can you REALLY go to Ireland and NOT want to kiss the Blarney Stone? Legend has it, kissing the Blarney Stone will imbue the kisser with the gift of eloquent and persuasive speech - the gift of gab. The catch is... the Stone is at the very top of the castle, and to reach it you have to lay on your back, lower yourself over the side, twist backwards and pucker up. Someone is actually employed there to hold onto you as you do this - so you don't plunge to a horrible death?? I'm dreadfully afraid of heights, but seeing as how I had flown over 4300 miles to get there, by goodness I was gonna do it! I will upload the photo as proof, but the video tells the story better - the nice man holding my hips as I say, over and over, "oh my god oh my god oh my god...."

The view from the castle was stunning in October when I was there. And after it's all over, I have to admit, I am very glad I did it. :-)

Thursday, September 29 - CORK - KILLARNEY

Back on the "freeway" to Blarney Castle. Had to kiss that Blarney Stone. Blarney Castle is very interesting and the grounds are beautiful and the size of the plants in the gardens confirmed it is centuries old.

Kissing the Blarney Stone is not easy. You must first walk up 127 stairs, then do a backbend and kiss it, the stone, upside down while looking down from approximately six stories. It was worth it wasn't it Faye - and we had our picture taken too.

We made the mistake of going into the Blarney Woolen Mills, that is where I left a large debt on my credit card. So much to buy and so little money. My best investment was a Donegal sweater and Faye's was her Arian sweater and cap. The sweaters were 1/3 the price of what they cost in the US. By-the-way, we were the only people in the Ireland that wore caps.

The stone is believed to be half of the Stone of Scone which originally belonged to Scotland. Scottish Kings were crowned over the stone, because it was believed to have special powers.

The stone was given to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in return for his support in the Battle of Bannockburn.

Queen Elizabeth I wanted Irish chiefs to agree to occupy their own lands under title from her. Cormac Teige McCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, handled every Royal request with subtle diplomacy, promising loyalty to the Queen without "giving in". Elizabeth proclaimed that McCarthy was giving her "a lot of Blarney", thus giving rise to the legend.

You too can acquire the gift of eloquence by kissing the stone.

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I wasnt bothered about kissing the Blarney Stone. I mainly just wanted to see the castle. You have to pay to get into the grounds which the castle is situated. Its worth the price, the gardens are beautiful! They have a cave that will be open in a few months time too. The castle itself was the best we saw in Ireland, as its stunning to look at, and the interior is like a big maze with all the rooms inside accessible! It was a little slippery in places, you have to duck to get into different rooms & the final stairway to the top was so narrow & steep (compared to notre dame in paris, but even more narrow!).
When we got to the top, where the stone is, we decided to give it a go, i mean it didnt cost any extra! Was a quick thrill really, the guy who holds you while kissing the stone kept pushing me further down! (so i got to kiss it three times! haha) Glad i did it!

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Blarney Castle is an interesting castle north of the city of Cork and while it is great for the old architecture and the park most of the tourists just get there because of an old ledgend and in order to kiss the " Blarney Stone " , a piece of stone on the very top of the tower .The old ledgend says that kissing that stone will give you the " gift of eloquence " !
You just have to lay on your back, bend back your head in a crazy way into a hole of the top-fence and while you are held by a strong man you kiss that stone, thats all you have to do...
I admitt, I watched other tourists doing so, But refrained to do it myself...
....Hmmm, maybe I should have done it, but now it is too late anyway ;-((
Blarney-castle is open Monday to Saturday:
May: 09.00 a.m. to 06.30 p.m. Jun-Aug: untill 7 p.m.
Sept: 09.oo a.m. to 06.30 p.m.
Oct-Apr: 9 a.m. to sundown (or 6 p.m.)
and on Sundays:
During Summer: 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
In Winter: 9.30 a.m. to sundown
Last Admissions is 30 minutes before closing-time !!
Admission is 7 Euros / 5 Euros for senor-citizens
16 Euros for parents and 2 children !
The Castle is open for the entire year, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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Five of us spent three days in Cobh, near Cork City. A very beautiful part of Ireland. Easy to drive around. Excellent b & b overlooking the sea. We spent a day at Blarney and went to the castle. The picture is of my mum kissing the blarney stone. She is 75 years old and was really determined to climb the steps to the top of the castle. Fantastic views and a time I will never forget. I hope to return in the near future.

We decided to skip the Blarney stone. Too touristy. And who wants to kiss a stone hanging upside down that thousands of others have slobbered on? Didn't get it and didn't want to wast time there. I'm sure others enjoyed "saying" they did it.

You can't go to Ireland and not kiss the blarney stone. It is not for the feint hearted though! If you can make it up the steep windy steps you can kiss the stone. Not sure which was the harder to do.

To kiss the stone you must lay down while two men ease you over the edge...backwards. A man holds your legs as you dangle precariously. The stone itself must be about a metre down.

Actually I kissed it twice! I was told that you have to give it a big smack of a kiss and not happy with my first go at it I did it again just to make sure...I haven't shut up since!

There is a photograper on hand to snap that crucial moment. As you leave the park there is a booth you can go to to order your copy. Cost was about 12 euros? They give you an envelope for you to write your address and they post it for you.