The first of these special places I encountered in my travels was Blarney in County Cork, and given that I now posses blarney (eloquence, to the uninitiated), I will do my best to convince you of a visit.
Walking through the lushest greenest grounds you will ever see, Blarney Castle peaks into view showing itself a magnificent, towering middle age structure. King Cormac MacCarthy of Munster is the monarch behind the the castle, built over 600 hundred years ago, which is now basically hollow inside bar the smallest, narrowest and steepest staircase I have ever encountered which leads to the Blarney Stone at they very top. Neither the castle or the town has always been referred to as Blarney, a term which came about thanks to Elizabeth I, who told the Earl of Leicester at the time he was speaking a load of old 'blarney' when reporting back on the status on his delayed take over of the castle form MacCarthy. These days we might say he was simply talking bulls**t, but blarney is definitely more 'eloquent'.
The stone itself, which is placed in such a way that you must lay flat and lean back, dangling your upper body from a parapet in order to kiss it, is said to bestow the kisser with the gift of eloquence. Legend says the stone was a gift from the Scots in 1314 when MacCarthy sent thousands of soldiers in support of Robert the Bruce in order to defeat the English, although there are legends that go back even further to the crusades.
A fantastic story of mystery and intrigue isn't it, somewhat bringing you back down to earth when you spot the bottles of Tesco anti-bacterial spray sitting next to it!! ick! The town itself is adorable, the castle grounds being surrounded by the Blarney Woolen Mills and several little shops, but the castle and its grounds is the main tourist attraction around here.
A fantastic story of mystery and intrigue isn't it, somewhat bringing you back down to earth when you spot the bottles of Tesco anti-bacterial spray sitting next to it!! ick! The town itself is adorable, the castle grounds being surrounded by the Blarney Woolen Mills and several little shops, but the castle and its grounds is the main tourist attraction around here.
North east of Cork is the country's capital Dublin. Expecting more of an old city not unlike Edinburgh, I was surprised by its modern buildings and surrounds. Mostly due to the fact that they were unfortunately tearing down aged structures up until the late 1970's.
If the first stop for you must be a pint of Guinness, head to the Temple bar district to the right off Temple Lane. Oh, and expect a bit of a wait when you order your Guinness which must be poured bit by bit and left to settle after each fill! By my watch my first order was 15 minutes in a quiet pub. Pubs, come to that, are abundant in Dublin and are probably the best places to get a good meal worth the euro.
'What about the Abduction Clubs' I hear you say? 'Whats that?' Back in 18th century southern Ireland, an association was formed - the Abduction Club - consisting of seconds sons, or 'squireens', of well off families. Back in the day law said it was the first born sons who inherited the family estate, while the second son had no choice but to marry an heiress or enter the church to make a living. The purpose of the Club, who rebelled this law, was basically to make googly eyes at heiresses and when they thought they were in, abduct them and persuade (not forced) them into marriage. After all, they were gentlemen, men of honor...
One such story which centres around the Kennedy girls - Catherine and Anne - who were abducted by squireens Garrett Byrne and James Strang, which was been made into a 2002 movie with dishy Matthew Rhys and Aussie Daniel Lapaine. Said to be based on true events and true characters, you can't help but to get behind these poor boys who eventually give up their quest to marry rich because they've fallen in love...sigh (the Kennedy girls revealing that their father is actually broke due to his gambling ways).
So all in all, it goes without saying (again) that the Emerald Isle is certainly a must see destination in the UK, full of wonder, magic and the black stuff. And if you manage to catch a leprechaun while you're there, you'll be laughing...