Our ship arrived arrived in the port of Cobh in Ireland at around 7am in the morning. The port of Cobh was the last port of call of the Titanic before it headed off on its ill-fated journey across the Atlantic. (After Cobh we are heading to Iceland and we have heard reports of a very icebergs, floating in the North Atlantic Ocean through which our ship will travel.
Our first view of Ireland which we saw from our cabin deck was typical of what we'd seen in books. The skies were an overcast grey colour , there were few trees but lush green grasses covered the low lying hills. This was the southernmost tip of Ireland but we were heading for Cobh, a port city and the view from our ships' berthed point ther, was entirely different. The skies were still a very pale blue but a soft white, moisture-laden misty cloud-blanket veiled the sun's rays and heat from the town. We felt a dramatic drop in temperature as we watched Cobh come into view. Such a contrast from the bright blue, sunny skies, burnt brown lawns and summer heat of London just yesterday. The greyness of Cobh skies was also in the colour of the limestone hillside on which the city is built. Dominating the Cobh township was a magestic, grey-limestone cathedral set on the hillside. Surrounding the cathedral were clusters and layers of 3 to 4 storey brightly painted rows of attached houses, commercial-buildings, pubs and shops. They all stood together, clinging to the hillside and provided the richness of colour missing from the skies.
We dressed in warmer gear and after meeting our tour guide we headed off in a 16 seater Mercedes bus for a day of touring the countryside of Ireland as we travelled the 90 minute trip from Cobh to Blarney Castle.
On the way we stopped to visit the pretty town of Cork which has a very curious history. The river which now runs beside the town used to actually run right through the town - down what is now Main Street. All along Main Street we saw sets of high steps that people once used to board and disembark from the barges that used to tie up at each set of steps as they ferried people around the town. Today the river has been diverted out of the city streets and the river bed is now a paved or tar roadway.
As we left Cork we crossed another ancient landmark, a long, low, beautifully crafted, stone bridge which provides the only link-road between Cobh and the rest of Ireland.
We arrived at Blarney Castle before the gates opened to enable us to get a head start on the crowds. Whilst waiting for the gates to open we took a group photo of our group and Shaun our Irish tour guide who had a great sense of humour and tod Irish jokes all day long.
A bit of history: Blarney Castle is the third structure to have been erected on this site. In the tenth century there was a wooden hunting lodge was built on the site, but around 1210 this was replaced by a stone structure with its entrance some six metres above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished in 1486 and the stones were reused for the foundation of the third castle built by Dermot McCarthy. McCarthy built the tower house, or fortress residence that is now know as Blarney Tower House Castle. The castle was the stronghold of the McCarthy family, Gaelic Lords, who expanded and remodelled the castle in several phases up to 1590. Since that period ownership of this fortress residence has passed through different hands. After the Jacobite wars a banking company received control of Blarney, selling it on to James Jefferyes in 1735. Today, the descendants of the Jefferyes, through a marriage with the Colthurst family, still retain ownership of the site.
The castle is a Tower House, a type of fortification built in Ireland between the fifteenth and seventh centuries by both Gaelic Lords and Anglo-Irish. Tower Houses, like Blarney, are typically 4 or 5 storeys tall with one or two main chambers, plus a number of smaller chambers, on each floor. Blarney, like most Tower Houses had at least one stone vaulted ceiling which was important because, not only did it make the tower more structurally sound by tying the walls together, it also acted as a fire break.
Blarney also had several defensive features, such as , arrow window-slit openings, a roof walk with battlements that soldiers could fire from, and a 'murder hole' over the main entrance which allowed occupants to drop missiles on anyone coming in the entrance door. Some of the walls here are five metres thick so it is a substantial edifice that has stood the test of attack, forces of nature and time. Blarney is an unusually large Tower House and is had at least two towers - the second tower was added in the 1500's. Most Tower Houses were free standing but at Blarney there is evidence of an outer wall marked by the line of the stone wall we saw around the Poison Garden display. This stone wall would have surrounded several small outbuildings, including kitchens and stables and it was built as an added layer of defence for the castle.
We really enjoyed climbing up and walking through the castle which is built from limestone blocks and has a maze like plan on different levels. Some of the central internal timbers rotted out long ago but most floors, staircases and ceiling remain in tact as they were constructed in stone. It has narrow passageways which were designed to make it difficult to fight with swords in these narrow passages which have inner stairways and narrow winding staircases which had secret entrances and interlocking corridors to confuse enemy attackers. However, any attacking enemy clan members first had to have survived arrows raining down on them from the parapet walls on top of the castle or the slit holes at varying levels in the outer walls. Their final assault would have been to survive passing under "the murder hole" area where enemy were bombarded with stones and boiling oil from an opening deliberately created in the floor above the only entrance.
We did climb the 100 steps up the tower and Ken kissed the Blarney Stone so the theory is that he is now eloquent in speech. Joy did not need to kiss the stone as she already has this gift but she took the photo. It seems ironical that 21st century people still line up to climb through this ancient edifice and then place themselves awkwardly and precariously on their backs, grab two metal handles and hang upside down over a (now padded) stone to try and kiss a stone! It's all a bit of a lark but everyone seemed to enjoy either ''having a go" or having fun watching their friends or partners " having a go". One bus driver advised his passengers that if they didn't want to kiss the they could always kiss an Irish bus driver instead. Today, a man is employed sit beside the Blarney Stone opening, to hold each 'would-be Blarney Stone kisser by their clothing and a professional photographer is present to capture the big moment. I guess the entrance fee and photshoot is one way of raising revenue for the upkeep of this little bit of history in Ireland.
The views from the top of the tower were well worth the 100 step climb for we had wonderful views over 60 acres of sprawling parklands which surround the castle estate grounds. Looking down over the top of the stone parapet walls where once soldiers had defended the castles from hoards of invaders we saw hoards of tourists eagerly standing in a line which stretched way off into the distance of the avenue of trees below and we thought to ourselves, " Aren't we glad that we arrived early to visit the castle today!"
We hadn't realised though that the grounds were so extensive and full of other' surprises' so we began the climb down, around and out of the castle, peeping back into some bedrooms, a nook or two as we descended. Yes it had been a fun experience exploring Blarney Castle. Now to tackle the estate's gardens! You will have to look at a second blog, Cobh, Ireland -2
