Blarney Castle

There was probably a wooden fort here by the 10th century, and a stone castle was built in 1210 but destroyed. It was re-built around 1446 for the MacCarthy clan, a branch of the Desmond rulers of Munster. They kept it in spite of the overthrow of the Desmonds by the Tudors. Cromwell's forces took the castle in 1646, but it was handed back at the Restoration of Charles II. But their leader the Earl of Clancarty was on the losing side at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690; he was exiled and his lands seized. Later owners preferred to build a new mansion than dwell in a dank gloomy tower so the castle fell derelict. The first mansion, The Court, was tacked onto the castle in 1739 but burnt out in 1820. The second attempt created Blarney House (below). A few areas inside the castle can be visited, such as the dungeons, but the thing to do is to climb to the battlements, lean out and kiss the Blarney Stone, and admire the view. The setting is impressive, as the castle perches on an 8-metre cliff, from which its stone was quarried. It's surrounded by extensive gardens, which include an awesome collection of poisonous plants.