Blarney Gardens and Castle

by WBlackwell on November 30, 2017

I took the bus from Limerick ( all of 400 steps from hotel to bus station) for 1 1/2 hour ride Cork and then a half hour to Blarney. If the bus stop had been any closer to the Muskerry Arms, it would have been inside.

As I entered these daffodils were a surprise at this time of year.

Blarney Gardens are some of the best gardens I’ve ever seen and will need to be revisited some spring or summer day. This one was right up there with Edinburgh Botanical, Logan and Kew. Fantastic even on the last day of November. It is good to see gardens in different seasons as it gives a better sense of the whole. Sadly, last month, Ireland was visited by Ophelia, a once in a hundred years hurricane. I was in Alloway, Scotland that day and posted of the orange sun as the sky was filled with sands from the Sahara! Ireland got really whacked by high winds and a once in 100 years hurricane took down many trees here that had been standing for 100 or more years. After talking to a number of the groundskeepers, I felt many had taken it personally.

Anyway, right smack in the middle of this wonderful garden, a garden that in all honestly I had no idea existed when I booked my stay here, they have a Castle! In 1210 a stone house was built replacing a wooden one. Destroyed in 1446, it was rebuilt and stood until taken by Cromwell’s army (what wasn’t in this land?) 200 years later.

Restored after the Reformation to Donough MacCarty, it was taken by the forces of King William in 1690. Eventually purchased by 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City. The Jeffreyes & Colthurst family were joined by marriage in the mid 1800’s and members of that family still live in the Blarney House.

Everyone’s probably heard about Blarney Castle and it’s famous Stone. To kiss the Stone is said to make one erudite or at least give you the gift of gab. Since anyone who knows me knows I have already a surfeit of latter and no hope for the former, I had no intention on kissing the Blarney Stone. But once in the Castle, it became obvious that that was the whole point. I learned that among the millions of people who have done so, Sir Winston Churchill had. Being a big fan of Churchill, I realized if he did, I should. The stone is located just above the top window in the first photo and is near impossible to reach unassisted but you are in no danger of falling. Especially difficult if you’re 67 and have fibromyalgia which doesn’t lead to easy contorting . Once lying there, I really did not think I would be able to extract myself and if not for the help of the 2 men on hand for just such assistance, I might not have. Hanging upside-down on one’s back under a massive stone is very disorienting and it took a minute for the blood to return to all it’s proper places.

Now a word about “blarney vs. baloney”. This sign says it best.

Now back to the best part, the gardens. There are trails that take you around planted gardens, through ancient woodlands, past unique plants, trees, waterfalls and ferns. I began by going through a druid circle of stones.

I let the waters of the River Blarney wash through my fingers leaving them feeling much cleaner than the Shannon. naturally.

I saw evergreens that I have never seen, many of the trees coming from the Himalayas so therefore more than sturdy enough for an Irish winter. I wondered how many could also handle a New England one.

The witch’s face is held in this stone during the day and she released to roam at night, she lights a fire to keep warm in this cave and in exchange for the firewood, she must grant wishes.