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Blarney Castle is one of the oldest and famous castles in Ireland. The history of the Blarney Castle stretches far back through the centuries to and has been home to the McCarthy's and Lords of Muskerry.
Aside from it's obvious beauty, Blarney Castle is famed around the world for the stone - called the Stone of Eloquence. Irish tradition states that those who kiss the Blarney Stone will be given the gift of eloquence.
The History of the Blarney Castle
Today's Blarney Castle is the third to have been built on the site. The very first castle to have been erected was a wooden structure, estimated to have been constructed in the 10th century. Following this in 1210 AD, a new stone structure was built to replace the old wooden and less secure castle. The stone stone castle had an impressive entrance 20 feet tall. Then in 1446 AD the third and current castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, the King of Munster. The angle tower was occupied at one stage by Cormac McCarthy who, according to tradition, is said to have given four thousand of his own men to supplement the armies of Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn. In return for this service, Robert the Bruce gave him half of the Stone of Scone, now known as the Blarney Stone
Take Your Time
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the Earl of Leicester was commanded to take over the Blarney Castle. But the owner at the time, a McCarthy, kept inviting the Earl for meetings over dinner and in doing so he stalled the process. Queen Elizabeth was so frustrated by his stubborn nature and the unbelievably slow progress that she began calling the Earl's reports a load of 'Blarney'.
Eventually the castle fell into the hands of Lord Broghill, who is famed for breaking the tower walls with his gun enplacement. When his men stormed the castle they found that the men had fled through a series of underground caves - taking with them the much-treasured golden plate!
When the castle was sold to Sir James St. John Jefferyes in 1688, he decided to drain the lake where the plate was supposed to lie. After spending a fortune in vain, the castle passed on to John Jefferyes in 1688.
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