Discover Alone
“Kiss me, I’m limestone”
Blarney Stone. Right, so you’re here to get the gift of the gab. This block of Carboniferous limestone has been jammed into the castle battlements since 1446. It’s a proper tourist trap, lads, with people from all over the world hanging upside down to plant a kiss. The story goes that doing so makes you eloquent, or at least very good at flattery. That’s what the word 'blarney' means now, you see. It’s not just flattery; it’s flattery sweetened by humour and flavoured with wit, as John O'Connor Power once said. You’ll see the castle is a real site, with gardens and history. Just be careful when you lean over the edge. Gravity doesn’t care about your eloquence. It’s a bit of a scramble to get there, but hey, if you want to be a smooth talker, this is the place to do it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the neck strain.
Photo: Srleffler, Public domain
Then Tom went looking for the oddest places around it.
Stop 2 · A few steps on
Cappadocian maple
“Geometry went full top”
Cappadocian maple is round like a top, which makes it look like it rolled into the garden and decided to stay. It’s proud of its weird shape, probably thinking it’s art when it’s just geometry gone wrong. Pick a stone nearby, any stone, and invent its biography; it’ll believe you.
Recorded as: Cappadocian maple. Species: Acer cappadocicum. Recorded age: 100 - 150 years.
From the Tree Council of Ireland, Heritage Trees of Ireland record 17Photo: MPF, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stop 3 · Right beside it
Blarney House
“Castle for the lazy”
Blarney House in Blarney is a Scottish Baronial style country house built in 1874 to avoid the tourists. It’s got corner turrets and stepped crenellated gables that make it look like a castle, but with slightly better heating and fewer people trying to kiss the stone.
Detached multiple-bay three-storey over basement Scottish Baronial style country house, dated 1874, having porch to front (north), single-storey wing to side (west) terminating in corner turret and full-height corner turret to north-east. Stepped crenellated…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 20845020Photo: Anna Maria 4574, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stop 4 · A 5-minute spin away
Gunpowder Mills
“Explosive, keep your distance”
The Ballincollig Gunpowder Mills made a material I would be very happy to discuss from a safe distance. Charles Henry Leslie began the Cork works in 1794; the British government later took over during the Napoleonic Wars. Production finally ended in 1903. The grounds became a public park, and many industrial buildings still show how extensive the operation was. I would offer to run a mill wheel, then be stopped before I touched anything sharp or unstable. The former visitor centre closed in 2002, so do not plan on finding an indoor exhibition just because old accounts mention one. Use the park's open paths, keep out of closed structures and check current access. Follow the river and look at how the buildings spread out. This was an entire working landscape, not one factory behind a wall.
Gunpowder Mills is recorded as a ruins in County Cork.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n1428296522Photo: Ian Paterson, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Stop 5 · Hop back in the car, 10 minutes
Church of the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church
“Dome for the gods”
Church of the Holy Spirit in Ballinaspig Beg has a large dome and tall towers because it wants to be seen from space. Part of the Rosary Churches group dedicated to Glorious Mysteries, so yes, it's very spiritual. What does 'Holy Spirit' really mean? Probably 'The Big Dome'.
Freestanding Latin-cross plan gable-fronted Roman Catholic church, built 1956-60, having flanking five-stage towers to front (east) elevation, four-bay nave, dome to transept crossing, flat roofed entrance porches to north and south elevations, flat roof…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 20865058Photo: Michael O'Sheil, CC BY-SA 4.0
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The whole day on one map
See everything else around Blarney Stone →
Over a million places across Ireland and Britain, all free. Explorer Tom has a story for nearly every one.