BLARNEY CASTLE & STONE! LEGENDS, HISTORY & TOUR! IRELAND!
It’s one of the most popular castles in the world and certainly in Ireland. Its magical mysticism and legends draw us into its colorful history making it a place of pilgrimage over the ages just to share in its blessings. The locations name is associated with fairy’s, witches, biblical characters, royalty, medieval battles, knights, dungeons, poison gardens and more. It’s picturesque beauty and majesty have made it one of the most popular places to visit in all of Ireland, Blarney Castle.
Recently we visited Blarney Castle, in County Cork, Ireland, and we wanted to share with you what we found. We will tell you some of the area’s history, tell you about the Blarney Stone’s magical power, and take you on a tour of the castle. We know that the area surrounding Blarney Castle has long been a location of importance and for centuries, the MacCarthy Clan has been associated with it. The MacCarthy’s reached the height of their power in the year 1127, when their Chieftain Cormac MacCarthy became King of Munster, one of the original four kingdoms of Ireland. A few years later in 1169, the Normans invaded Ireland and for the next five hundred years allegiances of the Irish clans shifted, and a struggle for power was always in effect. This led to numerous conflicts and wars, not only with the Normans, and eventually the English, but also with other Irish clans. The need for a strong fortress to be used as a base of operations lead to the construction of Blarney Castle, and a need for what was soon to be referred to as, “The Gift of Eloquence”.
Evidence suggests that before the year 1200, there was a wooden fort at the site and the first stone fort was built in 1210. That fortress was torn down and rebuilt in 1446, into the present one that we see today, by Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry. The castle was once eight acres and surrounded by a wall. Inside what is called, the bawn, would have been a small village of important workers for the castle. Over the next two hundred and fifty years, the castle was the scene of numerous conflicts, battles, and war planning, with ever changing allegiances. One story of note was in the mid 1600s when Oliver Cromwell attacked the castle with canon fire and eventually the castle fell to him. When his men stormed the castle, they found it empty. All of the inhabitants had escaped through the cave systems under the castle and they took the treasure with them. It is said that the treasure was thrown into the lake and to this day has not been recovered. The MacCarthy’s held Blarney Castle until the 1690s, when their leader Donough MacCarty, 4th Earl of Clan Carty was captured in the Williamite War. The castle soon sat empty for the next few years.
Eventually in 1703, James Jefferyes, Governor of Cork City purchased the property. The Jefferyes demolished the original house connected to the castle and had a four-story Georgian mansion built in its place. In 1739, the grandson of Governor Jefferyes, Sir James St. John Jefferyes, at age six, inherited the property and eventually developed the area into a successful manufacturing hub with over thirty various types of mills. This brought considerable success to the valley. By 1846 the estate had passed through marriage to the Colthurst family and in 1874, they built a Scottish baronial mansion, which is now occupied by Sir Charles Colthurst, 10th Baronet.
Now that we have discussed the history of the area, it’s time to talk about what the castle is most known for, it’s famous Blarney Stone! So, what is the Blarney Stone? It is a flat section of stone that is placed high on the castles wall, with what is said to be magical powers, and if you kiss it, you are given the “Gift of Eloquence”, or “Gift of Gab”. This means that you will never be without the proper words to talk yourself into, or out of any situation. Words will flow out of you without effort which can be very valuable to get what you want. This legend grew when in the 1500s, leaders of the MacCarthy Clan were able to talk and stall to give straight answers to the demands of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth I. Upon hearing the confusing and misleading talk of the MacCarthy’s, Queen Elizabeth said that it was a load of “Blarney” and that term lives on to this day for what some would refer to as B.S.
Thousands of tourists a year make the journey up the spiral staircase, to the top of the castle where they quite literally bend over backwards and stretch out as far as they can and lay a simple kiss on the magical stone. When I went, my family forbade me from kissing the stone since I’ve already been full of Blarney my whole life but in the end, they gave in and allowed me to have my gift enhanced. I must say, it’s a lot harder to do than it looks, you absolutely have to put some effort into it to earn your gift. Once you have successfully succeeded in your quest, you are awarded with a certificate which is quite nice.
There are many versions of how the Blarney Stone legend began and where it came from and the stories are quite elaborate, so I’ll start with the most popular. The first legend to mention has a biblical connection. It is said that it is the pillow of Jacob, that he laid his head on while he dreamed of the stairway to heaven. Some say that it was brought to Blarney from the Holy Land after a crusade and others say that the Prophet Jeremiah brought it, and it became the “Lia Fail”, or “Fatal Stone”, used as an oracular throne of Irish Kings.
Another legend is that the Blarney Stone was given to Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, King of Munster and MacCarthy Chieftain, by Scotland’s King Robert the Bruce in appreciation for his sending 5,000 troops to help him defeat the English King Edward II, thus securing his crown. The legend says that it is a piece of the Stone of Scone, on which the Kings of Scotland were crowned. Before becoming the Stone of Scone, it is said to have been the deathbed pillow of Saint Columba who died on the island of Iona in the year 597.
Another legend of the Blarney Stone is that there was once a Queen of the Fairies in South Munster who was the daughter of a powerful druid. She fell in love with a young chieftain who broke her heart by not returning her love. He was killed in battle and she found his body on a stone on the banks of the River Lee. His blood had soaked in the stone, which she continually kissed. This caused her magical powers to be absorbed by the stone itself. The Fairy Queen later gave the stone to Cormac Láidir MacCarthy and told him that if he kissed it, his difficulties would be resolved. Cormac had the stone put at the top of Blarney Castle so only his closest companions could have access to its power.
Two other stories exist as to the origin of the stone and both of them are from the bible. The first is that it is the Stone of Ezel, which David hid behind on Jonathan’s advice when he fled from his enemy Saul. The second story is that it is the rock that gushed water when struck by Moses during the wandering in the wilderness. Both of these legends say that the rock was brought to Ireland during one of the crusades.
Whatever the origin of the stone is, it is said that Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, the builder of the oldest part of the castle, was told the power of the stone by an old woman that he rescued from drowning in a lake. The old woman turned out to be a witch and in gratitude for saving her, she told him about the power of the stone that was already at his castle. Cormac had the stone placed at a very difficult spot to reach so only his most trusted companions would have access to it or know of its magic.
Now that we have discussed the history of the castle and the power of the Blarney Stone, let’s take a little tour of the castle. The castle is just a few miles outside of Cork City, and when you first arrive at the location you will see that the area used to have several mills. You make your way to the gate, purchase your tickets, which includes a map, and start your walk up to the castle. Approaching the castle is exciting and you want to make sure that you have plenty of time for photos. You veer around the left side, and there are markers posted to tell you when you are 90, 60, and 30 minutes away from reaching the stone. When you arrive at the back of the castle be sure to look up, as you will see the Blarney Stone and folks bending over backward to kiss it. Don’t let that get you scared, it’s quite safe.
Once you enter the castle you will walk along one of the walls and there will be informative signs to read. One of the signs describes the oubliette which you will walk over. The oubliette was a deep pit covered with a stone. A guard could pull a lever to move the stone causing an intruder to fall below. The pit is conical, so you can’t climb out. Be sure to see the map of the castle that shows the important rooms to notice as you climb up to the Blarney Stone, and then back down and out of the castle.
As you enter the tower, make sure you look up, you are standing in the murder hole, which is an area where a slab can be removed allowing defenders from up above to stab you with pikes, or swords, or pour boiling water, or oil on you. Soon you will enter into the ground floor room which once acted as a cellar. The area is open now and would have had a wooden floor above it for the Great Hall. You can still see the fireplace of the Great Hall which would have been elaborately decorated and been a place of celebrating and entertaining.
Some other rooms that you will see are the Earl’s bedroom, the young lady’s room, the banquet hall, the family room, the ancillary chamber, and the family room which has some surviving plaster work that you can see. Oh, and don’t forget the garderobes, everyone’s favorite spot, just don’t make it your favorite spot to stand below.
The staircase is spiral, and like all medieval castles, goes clockwise when going up. This is to give the advantage to the defender who was usually right handed. All throughout the staircases you will find nooks and crannies that you can climb in and have a look around. Make sure that you make the most out of your adventure here and climb up what you can. After you kiss the Blarney Stone at the top of the castle, you will be captivated by amazing view of the surrounding area. If you are really quiet, and use your imagination, you may find your mind drifting back to another time. Be sure to check out the bell tower and spend some time taking it all in.
Once you arrive back down to ground level, be sure to walk around and explore the lower levels of the castle to include the dungeon, the kennel, and the caverns. Now it’s time to explore the grounds which are full of beautiful gardens, including the poison garden. Make sure you don’t touch, smell or certainly eat anything here. If you make your way to the back of the property you will come to the baronial mansion which is quite impressive. Be sure not to miss the Rock Close area which is a mystical place said to be a settlement of ancient druids. The Witches Kitchen is a popular spot and the yew tree above it is said to be over 1,000 years old. Here you can also see the stones of the Witch’s Staircase which will grant your wish if you preform the necessary ritual correctly. It is said that you should beware around the witch’s stone and stay away from the druids alter when dusk falls.
The final thing to see on the grounds is what is called the Seven Sisters which is a circle of nine stones, two of which have fallen over. It is said that in medieval times a chieftain who had two sons and seven daughters took his sons on their first battle against a group that were stealing his cattle. The chieftain won the battle but his sons were killed. When they arrived back at the castle, the chieftain had his men knock over two of the stones to symbolize his grief.
As you make your way out of the park, if you are like me, you won’t want to leave, and will turn around several times for just one more look of this magnificent site. I also wanted to mention that I may be an actual heir to this castle. No seriously, my direct male line surname is a sept, or family that is part of the MacCarthy Clan. We descend from one of the sisters of the chieftains and Kings of Muster. Ok, I get it, my claim is pretty weak, but I’ll take it!
We hope you have enjoyed this article about the magical Blarney Castle, one of places on most world travelers bucket list. Very few spots on earth are sought after to receive special powers and this is certainly one of them. We hope you get to visit and be blessed with the gift of eloquence, or the gift of gab, or at any rate, be full of Blarney. Be sure to see our video from here at the link below!
– Col. Russ Carson, Jr., Founder, Family Tree Nuts