Further Up and Further In

Last Wednesday I had the fun opportunity to take a bus out of Cork to Blarney Castle, the home of the legendary Blarney Stone. For those who might not be familiar with the legend, the Blarney Stone is a big stone set in the battlements of Blarney Castle, an old Irish tower house set on an outcrop outside of Cork, Ireland, that will supposedly confer eloquence and flattery–gifts of fine and persuasive speech–on anyone brave enough to climb up the ruined castle, lean down over the battlements, and kiss the stone.

Why? Nobody’s entirely sure. There’s a handful of different legends about the origin of the stone, ranging from a piece of the Stone of Scone from Scotland, sent over as a gift to an ally, to the stone that Jacob used as a pillow from the Holy Land. It doesn’t really matter. As the legend goes, anyone that kisses it will gain the ability to flatter (or deceive) without causing offense, and charm others with wit and conversation. Best summary, seen on a sign in the castle: “To tell a 50-year-old woman she looks like she’s 18 is just simple flattery. To ask her how old she is so you know what age women are most beautiful–that is pure blarney.”

Interestingly enough, the common use of the word is traceable to a previous lord of the castle, who when Elizabeth I’s emissaries were demanding oaths of allegiance and fealty to retain his land, turned them away time and again with lavish compliments and admiration for the queen, but no oath. Legendarily, the Queen commented that he was giving her “a lot of ‘Blarney’” and the phrase was born.

Visiting the castle was a fun trip–the castle has been rigged for safety, there are handrails so it’s not TOO dangerous to get up there, but as much as possible of the ruins have been left intact. I slipped in and out of a dozen little chambers and forgotten rooms, and even explored the first couple chambers of a tunnel in the rock face below the castle. Great fun! When you got to the top, a burly docent would show you where you would lie down on the wall walk, grab two bars mounted on the wall, and (with him holding on to you just in case) lean down into the gap below the walk to kiss the stone, then swing back up. There are bars in place to prevent a calamity, so it’s not terribly worrisome anymore, unlike when you had to be dangled by your ankles over the open drop.

So did I kiss the stone? Why, of course! Those that know me well might ask why bother, but I figured a double dose of the dramatic delivery wouldn’t hurt my prospects as a politics major. To those concerned about hygiene, this wasn’t a crowded day, I couldn’t see anyone who’d kissed it immediately before me, it’s a big windswept stone 100 feet up in the battlements of a castle. I wasn’t about to be licking it down, but I wasn’t too concerned… And so I grabbed a passerby and had him shoot video…enjoy!

And, just in case, I kissed it twice.

Pictures to follow, view in order, the captions often build on previous ones, as it’s really more of a photoessay than a straight album. Apologies for the exposure in a bunch of photos, the weather did change rather dramatically during my hour and a half at the castle, and the later photos are much better, with a pretty blue sky.

P.S. I apologize for the long delay in posting. My laptop was iffy or completely out for repairs for roughly three weeks, and I’m only now catching back up. And the shoddy internet service in most of western Ireland didn’t help…

: A bright splash of colour across Blarney Green--owners seemed to take a particular delight in painting their houses in contrasting colours going down the row.

: A picturesque pub in the village.

: A nicely weathered Celtic cross on a gravestone in the local churchyard.

: Spring can finally be said to have arrived...

: My first sight of the castle through the trees.

: The imposing facade of the castle, built atop a 30-foot crag and therefore nearly impossible to undermine.

: The classy oriel window of the earl's bedroom.

: Note: when you see this sign, it means you MAY get hurt, but it WILL be awesome...

: The actual murder hole over the gateway! A small staircase led up to this chamber above the arched gateway, where interlopers could be conveniently ambushed if they forced their way past the doors.

: The partially bricked-up fireplace in the family room below the great hall (when the floors were intact). A 18th-century traveller said that the family would gather around the fire and tell "tales of heroes" in the evenings.

: Not all of the stonework was rudimentary or crude--there were very attractive windows in many places in the castle.

: That massive archway isn't a door. It's a fireplace. That whole end of the room was converted into a massive roast-a-side-of-beef fireplace a short distance from the Great Hall (for quick service).

: Pigeons were, unsurprisingly, everywhere. This one came in with a load of nestbuilding materials while I was standing there.

: The overhanging battlements of the castle. This was as much to direct rain away from the walls (to protect them from gradual erosion) as to provide an easy defense position.

: These large slabs were put in place to prevent erosion of the wall. They are estimated to weigh over a ton apiece--a mighty load to haul up to the peak of the castle.

: More of the wall walk at the top of the castle. Once a high vaulted roof would have filled the central space, but it is long gone. The curious arch in the photo I am given to understand once housed a dovecote.

: The rather rudimentary safety provisions for those who want to kiss the Blarney Stone (the large bluestone at the bottom edge of the parapet).

: The position of the Blarney Stone from below.

: A slightly wider shot, showing just how far up it is!

: The view across Rock Close, a famous rock garden, and down the valley towards Cork.

: Blarney Village from the top of the castle.

: The one remaining piece of the curtain wall, and the modern Poison Garden that has been planted behind it--a small garden of herbs, weeds, and trees with medicinal or harmful effects.