The Price of Eloquence

When I heard about kissing the Blarney Stone, no one told me it would be an utterly terrifying experience made better only by the slight of Irish luck imposed on us by the act. The town of Blarney is about a twenty minuet ride from Cork proper, and still in County Cork, a small place composed mainly of the world-famous castle and grounds. It was a blustery, windy way up until we set foot on the castle grounds, at which point the clouds opened and the sideways sun began to shine for the first time in what seems like days.

The castle is first seen as a large square edifice set upon a mound of bedrock and surrounded by the green, remarkably well-tended castle gardens. The ceilings are low and the entire building seems to be nothing but a man-made cave of tight doorways and winding stairwells, a lot like Skipton Castle in Northern England, actually, although perhaps bigger.

Inside the path guides you through the entryway to the main hall, up into the master chambers, around into the family rooms, and finally bringing you out onto the castle parapets where large gaps in the stonework not only drain water, but also provides a direct view to the ground some 90 feet below.

At the base of one of these hanging parapets is the fabled Blarney Stone, a flat blue rock situated in mid-air. In order to kiss it, one has to lean back over the open space in between and reach for the stone while the rain and wind try to knock you from your perch. There was a man there to hold us as we dipped out necks out over the landscape and held on to the protective bars. At one point I was sure I was going to slip off the rock, which only my legs touched, with only the bars to hold on to, but after the initial terror subsided I kissed the stone quickly and regained my footing on the solid castle roof.

From that point, our luck did seem to change. For the next hour or two as we walked the grounds down to Blarney House and the lake, the clouds blew east and bright blue sky came out. It was a mushy walk, but made all the better for the momentary lack of rain. As we ended our walk, however, the clouds encroached again, making us dash for the bus back to Cork, once again subject to rain, but now, hopefully empowered with the eloquence to pass the classes we are so far neglecting to study for.

Wind and Rain

Killarney is a town smaller than Cork, which is saying something considering you could easily walk Cork in a day. An hour and a half bus ride found us checking in at Neptune’s hostel in this tiny village, and in another fifteen we were headed back out on the town searching for a cheap place to eat.

There is a lively bar scene in Killarney, but nothing really seems to get going until about 11pm. At a sports pub called “Tatley Jack’s” we drank our fist Guinness, a drink tasting vaguely of coffee and thick enough to fill me up for the next two days. Here we also listened to a lively three-man Irish band sings songs with lyrics like, “The natural gas will burn your ass/ And send you all to Hell," and other such patriotic tunes.

The next day we headed out around 10:00 to catch a tour of the Ring of Kerry, a 170km road circling the peninsula between Dingle Bay and the Kenmare River. It was the rainiest, coldest day I’ve had in Ireland yet, but the van was warm and dry. A five hour tour saw us stopping at a number of spots along to route to take cold, wet photographs of a cold, wet landscape. More than ever I was reminded of what our accommodations officer had said, that we were living on a rock in the middle of the ocean. The Ring of Kerry felt exactly like that.

Unfortunately the rain continued into today, when we planned to rent bikes and tour Killarney National Park, including Ross Castle, a building sitting on the shore of Lough Leane and dating from the 1400s. But after a fruitless search for open bike rentals and a half-hour walk in the drenching rain, we finally gave up upon stopping for directions and learning the castle was closed.

So we opted to dry out at the hostel and head back to Cork and our oft too warm Leeside Apartment, finally defeated by the Irish rain.


A Statue of the Blessed Virgin, the Ring of Kerry.