Adventure: Ireland!
Story and Photos by Aefa Mulholland
Follow Out Traveler Aefa Mulholland and she explores Irelands culture, cuisine, and quirks! Part two of four.
To reach Blarney Castle Jen and I had to navigate the M1 south. More challengingly, we then had to scurry past Blarney’s siren-like souvenir stores. Banks of brain-gnawing green hustled for attention. I particularly liked socks declaring, "The leprechauns make me wear them." Who knew leprechauns were so sartorially demanding?
Unlike any 600-year-old structure you might stumble upon in North America, there's very little you can't do to this castle. You can clamber all over it, or even make out with it, should you so desire.
Home of the Stone of Eloquence, the ruined keep was rebuilt by the King of Munster in the 15th century. There are tall tales aplenty explaining the stone’s power, but all agree the gift o’ the gab awaits those who lie down, lunge backwards, and kiss the parapet wall, a decided improvement from previous methods in which stone-kissers were dangled by the ankles over the battlements.
Having reached the top of the limestone tower and surveyed the sheer drop, we decided there were better things to kiss and sped on.
