The Gift of Gab
If you’re reading this you must know me and you probably also know that the last thing I need to do is to participate in a tourist activity that apparently makes you talk more. But I went to Blarney Castle in Cork to lean over the edge of the top of the castle and kiss the Blarney Stone in hopes of receiving “the gift of gab” anyway. So there are a few different legends about the famed Blarney Stone. According to the website, some say it was Jacob’s pillow and the prophet Jeremiah brought it to Ireland. Others will say it’s part of the “Stone of Ezel” that David hid behind when escaping from Saul. Apparently a few might tell you it was the stone that gushed water when Moses struck it. With all of that in mind, legend also says that the Blarney Stone was moved to Scotland at one point. Then around 1314, a portion of the stone was returned to the McCarthey Clan at Blarney Castle as a ‘thank you’ present after the King of Munster, Cormac McCarthey, supplied troops to help the Scots defeat the invading English. Because let me tell you, there is nothing the Irish hate more than the bloody English and their trends of colonization. Regardless of how the Blarney Stone came to live at Blarney Castle in Cork, it’s storied past has created the idea that kissing the stone will bestow upon the kisser “the gift of gab,” meaning oratory eloquence. The stone is situated on the battlements of Blarney Castle so leaning over to kiss it used to be a very risky maneuver as people would be held by the ankles and dangled over the edge at about five stories up. Nowadays there’s a whole system with bars and an attendant to hold you in as you lean back and kiss the stone (thank God). I would never admit to being truly afraid of anything, but I don’t love heights. Basically, I yelped pretty loudly as I slid down the side of the castle upside down and the attendant holding me had to reassure me that I was fine while I kissed the stone. I’m not sure how much more poetic this post is than the last, but I’m glad I went out to Cork to participate in the random tradition of the Blarney Stone. In addition to the stone, the grounds of the Castle are stunningly beautiful and full of fun attractions like gardens, stables, and short hikes.
After a full day exploring beautiful Blarney, Sarah, Kerry, and I’s favorite part had to be…drum roll please… the murder hole!! Yes, there was a location called “murder hole” on the castle map and after getting up early after a long night and spending over two hours on a train down to Cork, we were a little sleep deprived and irrationally excited about the murder hole. The murder hole is a defense tactic. At the entrance of the castle there is a hole above the door where newcomers enter so that if the visitors turned out to be foes, the guards could stealthily attack the enemies from above using arrows or knives or hot liquid. Coupled with the murder hole, we were decently excited about the Poison Garden as well. After seeing Wolfsbane and Mandrake in the Poison Garden, our inner Harry Potter nerd was satisfied and we spent the rest of the afternoon just browsing the grounds before another over two hour train ride home.