Blarney Stone

This is our 3^rd time to Ireland and we finally made it to kiss the Blarney Stone. It was quite an experience leaning backwards and giving the olé Blarney Stone a kiss. A shout out to the 2 guys working there, Dennis and his buddy (sorry, didn’t get your name) for helping us… your awesome. Was a good time.

Not the most exciting thing to do. Probably more appropriate for tourists looking for leprechauns on their tour of Ireland. Stop by if you’re passing, but down go out of your way!

My advice… get there EARLY if you plan to kiss the Blarney Stone!
The entire castle is set in a beautiful park-​like setting surrounded by trees, a stream, caves, etc and has a large parking area by the entrance. We didn’t know this and took a few trips around the village square before figuring this out.
Parking is free by the way.
We purchased our tickets online which saved time at the entrance which is WAY too small to service the many visitors coming in. We arrived just after 10am, the park opens around 9am, if memory serves me correctly. We made a straight path to get to the castle in order to get in line to do the climb up and kissing of the stone. In reality, about an hour to the top, about 10 seconds to lie back, pull yourself to the wall and kiss it.
Warning: if you are claustrophobic, this might not be the trip for you. When you get in line, you’ll walk into the entrance of the castle, then herd your way into a nice, big open area before climbing some wooden stairs. After that, you’re climbing a spiral staircase up to the top. There are no rails to hold onto, but there is a 2-​inch rope going up the middle of the staircase so you at least have something to use for support. The higher you climb, the more narrow and taller the steps become. You will physically be «cramped» down where you’re climbing the steps, not walking up them. For me, it wasn’t too terrible, but for some in line, it was literally affecting their nerves.
Once you reach the top, you have a wonderful overlook of the park below but be careful, those with vertigo might begin to lose their «sh*t» when looking over the edge.
You’re almost there!
You are still in line but you can see the action happening in front of you. Sit down, lie back on the padding, grab the two rails on the wall, pull yourself to the wall upside down, and just kiss whatever is in front of you. As far as I’m concerned that was good enough!
Tip: they do NOT clean or sanitize the wall in between kissers so yeah, if you’re a germophobe, you’re screwed. They did have a bottle of cleaner there so I assume if you asked, they would clean a general area for you.
Then hey, guess what, you’ve done it and you’re on your merry way to enjoy the rest of the park offerings!
It’s a must-​do if you’re anywhere NEAR Cork, Ireland. Ticket prices were acceptable, but much more at the gate. Remember, get there early because as the day goes on, it gets packed.
We were there for the week of the Euro Spring Break so my experience may not be typical.

«Kiss the stone and you will receive the gift of the gab!» That’s what they say. I’ve done it twice now and it’s fun for what it is. The stone is located on the very top of the castle and requires a bit of work navigating your way safely up narrow winding stairs but it’s well worth it. As for kissing the stone you’ll need to lay on your back and bend downwards to reach it. No worries though as there is trained staff to assist you.
The castle itself is more interesting than the stone. You’ll get to make your way to the different rooms, caves, and the murder hole. The murder hole is where hot oil was poured down over prisoners as a form of torture. The gardens are well maintained and beautiful.
Kissing the Blarney Stone is something you do just to say you’ve done it. It’s quirky and fun. A must do when visiting Ireland.

I think we came at the right time of year! Mid week in the middle of September. We had a wonderful sunny day and the castle looked truly spectacular. There is so much incredible history to this place and I had no idea how long it stretched back until I got here. To be honest, I just wanted to kiss the stone, but what I found when I arrived was so much more. The gardens are absolutely beautiful, even the poison garden which terrified me a little was beautiful! We arrived around 3pm and took our time walking to the castle, checked out the many different rooms on the way up and there wasn’t a single cue to kiss the stone! Easy! We walked straight up to the stone, planted a kiss and went on our way back down the castle. It was quite awesome to tick it off the bucket list, not sure I’m more eloquent though!
The castle is very impressive, very old and crumbling and a little creepy but very impressive. Blarney House is absolutely beautiful though is now closed until next June. The lake, waterfalls, fern gardens… you could spend an entire day here. I heard people grumbling about the entry fee but to be honest, for the vast amount of things to take in once you’re through the gates, and the fact they seem to be expanding it, it’s definitely worth the money. Lots of old myths to feast your mind on too! A great day out! My only regret is not having more time to explore!

This is in the Blarney Castle Hotel. It was recommended to us, and turned out delicious! We had «Chish and Fips»…loved the fresh salad on the side, and the steak special. The bread was good, seafood chowder was good, and we also shared a berry cobbler with ice cream! It was perfect!