Explore Blarney Castle

Cormac MacCarthy, one of Ireland's finest chieftans, built it about 600 years ago, and it has drawn attention ever since. Millions of people have visited Blarney over the last few centuries, making it an international landmark and one of Ireland's greatest assets. Though older defences were on the same site, the present keep was erected in 1446 by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet line of the Kings of Desmond.

The castle was erected before 1200, when a wooden house was said to have been built on the site, but little evidence of this survives. This was rebuilt about 1210 with a stone fortification. It was demolished in 1446 but rebuilt by Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry, who also constructed castles at Kilcrea and Carrignamuck. During the Irish Confederate Wars, the fortress was attacked and conquered in 1646 by Parliamentarian forces led by Lord Broghill. However, during the Restoration, the castle was returned to Donough MacCarty, who was elevated to the rank of 1st Earl of Clancarty.

Blarney Castle is currently a partial ruin, with several halls and battlements still accessible. The Stone of Eloquence, sometimes known as the Blarney Stone, is located at the summit of the castle. Visitors to the castle can hang upside-down over a precipitous drop to kiss the stone, which is claimed to bestow the gift of eloquence. There are other theories about the stone's origin, including the notion that it was the Lia Fáil, a numinous stone upon which Irish monarchs were crowned.

Location: Cork, Ireland