Located in the village of Blarney just outside Cork city Blarney Castle is neither the biggest or oldest castle in Ireland but it is definitely one of the most popular with hundreds of thousands of visitors from all around the world travelling to ‘kiss the stone’. Kissing the blarney stone is said to give the gift of eloquent speech or as it is referred to locally ‘the gift of the gab’! The word ‘Blarney’ found its place in the Oxford English Dictionary based on the legend attached to the stone. In 1314 the stone was gifted to the castle’s then owner King Cormac McCarthy from King Robert The Bruce of Scotland and a local witch told the King that the stone would bestow special gifts of eloquence to anyone who kissed it and the tradition has continued ever since. There are many legends and lots of folklore attached to Blarney Castle, do come and visit on your Irish tour and get your ‘fill of blarney’… no visit is complete without exploring the beautiful gardens with rare trees and mystical Druid rock formations such as The Witch’s Kitchen and The Wishing Steps.