This ancient castle is one of the symbols of freedom-loving Ireland, located in the village of Blarney, a suburb of the small city of Cork. Blarney Castle was erected in 1446 on the site of an earlier castle, built in 1210, which was later replaced by a flimsy wooden structure of the tenth century. The castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, who built a very powerful five-storey fortress with thick walls and a network of secret underground passages and hidden caves, so that in the event of a siege of Blarney, the owners could quickly escape without jeopardizing their lives. These secret passages served the owners of the castle very well in the seventeenth century, when Lord Brogill laid siege to the castle and even managed to break through these powerful walls inside, but what was his surprise when, once inside the castle grounds, he found not a single living soul, and in addition, all valuables were also taken out of Blarney by the owners.
Tour guides will tell you numerous real stories and legends associated with the castle. One of them is the story of how the owner of Blarney Castle was able to refuse the powerful Queen Elizabeth the First of England in transferring ownership of the structure. According to the story, the queen dreamed of gaining possession of this magnificent castle, and the desire of the ruler in those years was the law. But the wise owner of Blarney was not ready to give up his ancestral property, although he did not dare to say so openly either. When another envoy came from the queen on this issue, he welcomed him with feasts, treats, hunting, gifts, said a lot of pleasantries, passed letters to the queen with many compliments, assurances of eternal loyalty, but the desired gift – the castle Blarney did not offer to accept. Since then a new term “to blarney” was introduced in the English language, i.e. “to flatter” – to have sweet but useless conversations.
On the grounds of Blarney Castle there is a very beautiful Gothic style house “Blarney House”, built in the eighteenth century, however, the original structure in 1820 burned out in a fire, and the new one was rebuilt a little apart in 1874. It is open to tourists from April to May on Fridays and Saturdays.
The garden of Blarney Castle is another rather mysterious place, where you can feel some mystical atmosphere. It is home to such artifacts as: “Rock Close” – an ancient pagan altar, the Circle of Druids, the Witches’ Kitchen. An interesting place is the “Witches’ Staircase” – it is a green split rock, inside of which you can walk on slippery steps, and you should make a wish and close your eyes so that during your passage on the stairs little elves will fulfill your wish. The gardens around Blarney Castle appeared in the eighteenth century, they were laid out between centuries-old oaks, intertwining the corners of nature with man-made masterpieces of landscape design.