A Load of Blarney

Welcome to Blarney!

A Load of Blarney

It is from this small picturesque Irish village that the word ‘blarney’ derived- before being added officially to the English dictionary!

Blarney, or the Irish version ‘An Bhlarna’, meaning ‘the little field’ is a town and townland in County Cork, Ireland. Blarney is famed as the site of Blarney Castle, a thousand acre park with magnificent lakes, gardens and woodland. The castle houses the even more famous or infamous Blarney stone in its battlements. It is said that those who kiss the stone will receive the gift of eloquence. Chieftain MacCarthy the owner of Blarney castle, being pressurised by Queen Elizabeth 1 to pledge allegiance to the crown, managed to circumvent her demands with flattery and eloquence forcing her to eventually protest in frustration "Odds bodkins, more Blarney talk. What he says, he never means!" and so a new phrase entered the English language and the English dictionary!

Blarney village in olden times was home to a number of spinning & weaving mills due to its natural setting on the River Martin and the Shournagh River as a source of power for the machines. Thus, in 1765 Blarney village was actually built for the mill workers and Blarney celebrated 250 years as a village in 2015.The village centres round the well preserved Tudor style village square – a large green area wherein tourists and locals alike congregate in the summer months.‘Blarney’ meaning flattering or persuasive talk, visitors can now assume they are standing within the very hub of communication and eloquence!

Why not take our Interactive Heritage Trail from the comfort of your couch, or as a short but interesting stroll to learn more about the history of this world-famous village that draws close to half a million visitors each year? Step back in time to days and nights of child labour, hangings on the village green, bombings in the barracks…and much much more!

CLICK THE BUTTON NOW - suitable for walkers, runners, wheelchair users, buggies.