Visit Blarney Castle & Kiss The Blarney Stone Limerick

History of Blarney Castle

The Blarney Castle is known around the world for it’s famous Blarney stone, a stone that you kiss to at the top of the castle to get the gift of the gab. But, the castle has so much more than just the stone to offer. It is knee-deep in history and rich in culture, certainly a place you must visit in Ireland.

The castle was built almost 600 years ago in the small village of Blarney in County Cork, and since then millions of people from all over the world have come to visit it. It is one of Ireland’s most loved and treasured landmarks.  It is said that once you kiss the stone at the top of the tower you will never be lost for words again, it is said that.

The exact origin of the Blarney stone is debatable; some say it was brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah, and used as a fatal stone or a stone of destiny to forecast Kings of Ireland. Others say it came from Scotland after a battle, and some say it came from the Crusades. Wherever it came from, there is a mutual belief amongst all that by kissing the stone you receive the gift of eloquence.

As the famous stone, the Castle has beautiful, and magical, gardens that you can walk around no matter the season. In the summer it is the rose beds that are blooming, in the fall the trees are the most spectacular view and in the winter there is a lovely mysterious beauty around the gardens, particularly in the lake and woodland areas.

The Blarney Castle Gardens

The castle you see today is actually the third castle that was built here. The first castle was made from wood and the second made from stone. In the 15th century the third castle, which is the one we see today, was built by the King of Munster, Dermot McCarthy.

The property was sold in the 17th to Sir James St. John Jefferyes who was the Governor of Cork at the time. At the beginning of the 18th century his son, by the same name, built a Georgian gothic house near the castle and laid out a fantastic landscape garden. This is known as the Rock Close, which you can visit at the grounds. It is a stunning arrangement of massive boulders and rocks, around what is believed to be druid remains from prehistoric times.

To really soak up the remarkable and brilliant history of this castle you must walk and visit around it. And don’t forget to kiss the stone! We promise it won’t disappoint.

The Blarney Castle is known around the world for it’s famous Blarney stone, a stone that you kiss to at the top of the castle to get the gift of the gab. The castle has so much more than just the stone to offer. The castle was built almost 600 years ago in the small village of Blarney in County Cork, and since then millions of people from all over the world have come to visit it. The castle you see today is actually the third castle that was built here. The first castle was made from wood and the second made from stone.

The castle originally dates from before 1200, when a timber house was believed to have been built on the site, although no evidence remains of this. Around 1210 this was replaced by a stone fortification.

The castle was besieged during the Irish Confederate Wars and was seized in 1646 by Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill. However, after the Restoration, the castle was restored to Donough MacCarty, who was made 1st Earl of Clancarty.

During the Williamite War in Ireland in the 1690s, the then 4th Earl of Clancarty (also named Donough MacCarty) was captured and his lands (including Blarney Castle) were confiscated by the Williamites.

The castle was sold and changed hands a number of times– Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, owned it briefly– before being purchased in the early 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City. The castle was sold and changed hands a number of times– Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, owned it briefly– before being purchased in the early 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City.

Members of the Jefferyes family would later build a mansion near the keep. This house was destroyed by fire, and in 1874 a replacement baronial mansion, known as Blarney House, was built overlooking the nearby lake.

Kissing the Blarney Stone

In the mid 19th century, the Jefferyes and Colthurst families were joined by marriage, and the Colthurst family still occupy the demesne. In May 2008, the present estate owner, Sir Charles St John Colthurst, Baronet, succeeded in a court action to eject a man who had lived on his land for 44 years. The man’s great-grandfather had been the first to occupy the estate cottage.

The castle originally dates from before 1200, when a timber house was believed to have been built on the site, although no evidence remains of this. The castle was besieged during the Irish Confederate Wars and was seized in 1646 by Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill. After the Restoration, the castle was restored to Donough MacCarty, who was made 1st Earl of Clancarty. The castle was sold and changed hands a number of times– Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, owned it briefly– before being purchased in the early 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City. Members of the Jefferyes family would later build a mansion near the keep.

Visit Blarney Castle & Kissing the Blarney Stone to experience a great Irish treasure. Ballyhoura Luxury Hostel is located on the border of Cork and a great location to Stay. Contact us today to get information about Hostel and make a booking to stay.