Stop 19. Blarney Castle Hotel
History
Smith’s Hotel:
Originally known as Smith’s Hotel, the Blarney Castle Hotel has been in the Forrest family for three generations.
THE STOLEN LINEN
There were two Sinclair brothers living in the adjoining house. They had originally been brought to Blarney as weavers but subsequently raided a neighbouring linen establishment in in Six Mile Water, Whitechurch. It is said they stole a lot of linen! It’s likely to have been some form of protest, perhaps in relation to wages. Mr. Robert Gordon Esq. of New Grove didn’t take too kindly to having his linen manhandled, so he went vigilante and organised a gang and a loaded shotgun, caught the two brothers and handed them over to the police.
There is a reference to Mr. Gordon in Arthur Young’s ‘A Tour in Ireland, 1776-1779’
Come along next door to the Butler’s house.
