Blarney Castle & Gardens, Ireland – Day 12

14 years ago, I was at Beth Israel giving birth to my first baby, and today, I am in Ireland with a teenager! Being a mom to this independent, funny, free-spirited, thoughtful, and observant child is more than I could have ever imagined. It is more beautiful and exhausting, more irritating and delightful, more educational and eye-opening.

I am happy to be along for the ride and to be able to celebrate Addison as she grows and changes before our eyes. I wanted to decorate for her birthday morning, so I made a garland by spiral shredding our past itinerary pages, picked flowers from the Airbnb garden, and used multicolored paper bags and ribbon tied to our luggage to wrap a few presents for Addie. Veronica helped me set everything up the night before so the twins could get up early with Addison and surprise her.

I packed up most of the house last night so we could make a quick exit and head back to Killarney on our way to Blarney for a quick breakfast of crepes (Addison’s request).

Jen drove us about an hour and a half to Blarney for our check-in at our final Airbnb. We went in to drop our bags around 12:30 and accidentally took a much-needed break. Jen and Veronica napped, the twins locked into their devices, and Addie worked on a miniature puzzle Veronica gave her for her birthday. Jen and I left with the three “not so littles” and let Vee continue her nap. I have to be honest that I wasn’t super excited to visit another castle, but I did want to kiss the Blarney Stone…. However, I was delighted as soon as we passed through the visitor entrance. The grounds are stunning and have 60 acres of beautiful winding paths, boardwalks, caves, sculptures, and special gardens like a fern garden, poison garden, carnivorous garden, Irish herb garden, witches kitchen garden, and so much more!  There were archways, rose-covered pergolas, babbling brooks with bridges, and a waterfall.

We first made our way to a cafe for a quick light lunch and then headed into the castle to cue for the line to the Blarney Stone. We wove our way through the 18-foot thick stone walls and up into the castle through narrow spiral staircases and uneven passageways. As we passed through the castle, we saw loads of plaques to keep us reading details about the construction of the castle and the changing uses of the many rooms. The castle is actually the third edition of the castle, as the first was made of wood, the second was mostly destroyed, and the current version was built between the 15th and 17th centuries by Gaelic lords and the Anglo-Irish.

We finally reached the battlements around the top tower, which was some five stories up. This is where the Blarney Stone is found.  The stone itself is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the battlements. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery).

There are several stories about the Blarney Stone and how it came into existence, but I will share my favorite.

“Cormac McTaidhg Láidir MacCarthy rescued an old woman from drowning in a river. She turned out to be a witch, and everyone knows witches and water don’t mix. In gratitude, she told him of a certain stone already in the castle that had magic properties and that he would benefit from kissing it.”

Other stories include the stone coming from Israel and belonging to Jacob, or a lady and unrequited love, death, blood, and her tears mixing and making it magical…. Or maybe it was a thank you present from the Scots…. Whatever the case. Queen Elizabeth first used the term blarney to connote someone who says a lot of nice things but avoids the task or request at hand, thus speaking a bunch of blarney.

I fully committed to the task. The stone is at the bottom of a battlement suspended five stories high. One simply lies on their back, grabs two iron bars, and shimmies backward and upside down a little more to kiss the stone. (It should be noted that there is a staff member who holds on to your waist and iron bars, which would catch you if you tipped too far back.) I don’t know what I was picturing, but it wasn’t really this. When I saw Evan and Addie didn’t even get their face near the correct stone, I decided I was tipping back as far as needed. My short dress rode all the way up as I stretched back and planted a sincere kiss on the stone. (Thankfully, I was wearing shorts because they were on full display).

The rest of our time was spent taking photos of Addie as she twirled around the gardens. We split from Jen and the twins, were joined by Vee, and had a magical afternoon, which included waking eyes closed up and down the wishing stairs and exploring Druid circles, sacrificial alters, and other witchy woodland mysteries.

Dinner was a quick drive into Cork for some delicious sushi (another Addie birthday request) and more Murphy’s. This was our fifth and final Murphy’s stop, so we purchased a few pints to take home. We sang Happy Birthday loudly and laughed our way back to the car.