Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle, a stout medieval tower house near Cork, is famous the world over for the Blarney Stone set high in its battlements. Legend says that kissing the stone, leaning backwards over a drop while an attendant holds you, bestows the gift of eloquence, the gab. Around the castle spread lovely gardens, including a poison garden and a rock close of ancient stones.

History

A timber house is believed to have stood here before 1200, replaced around 1210 by a stone fortification; the present keep was built by Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry, and dates from 1446. Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill took it in 1646, after the Restoration it went back to Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty, and in the 1690s the Williamites confiscated it from the 4th Earl (Wikipedia, Blarney Castle).

The main sights

• The Blarney Stone - the stone kissed for eloquence, high in the battlements.
• The castle tower - the climb up the medieval tower house to the top.
• The gardens - the poison garden, rock close and riverside walks.
• The grounds - the wider parkland and Blarney House.

When to go

Late spring to early autumn for the gardens and mildest weather; the castle is open year-round. Early in the day avoids the queue to kiss the stone.

Good to know

Kissing the stone means leaning backwards over a gap high on the castle, which is not for the fearful, and it draws long queues in season. The gardens are genuinely lovely and less crowded. It is a touristy ritual, embraced or skipped as you like.

Nearby

Cork city and its English Market are close; the harbour town of Cobh is nearby.

Key facts