A Bunch of Blarney and Put a Cork In It!

Tuesday marked our final tour day in Waterford to Cahir Castle, the Blarney Castle, Cork, and a quick stop in Youghal. Ireland's largest and best preserved castles, Cahir is situated on a rocky island on the River Suir. Once the stronghold of the powerful Butler family, Cahir Castle became a feudal fantasy in a big way. It's a river-island site with moat, rocky foundations, massive walls, turrets and towers, defenses and dungeons. Founded by Conor O'Brien in 1142, it was passed to the Butler family in 1375. In 1599, it lost the arms race of its day when the Earl of Essex used cannons to shatter the walls. The castle was surrendered to Cromwell in 1650 without a struggle; its future usefulness may have discouraged the usual Cromwellian deconstruction. It is largely intact and formidable still, and was restored in the 1840's and again in the 1960's when it came under state ownership. After a fifteen minute audio visual presentation and a quick tour, the real rewards came from a simple wandering through the remarkable survivor of Ireland's medieval past. Connor CassMan Cassidy said he really liked the tour and learned a lot. Olivia/ODawg said that Cahir Castle was simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious . Then we were off to Blarney. Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting attention beyond Munster ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures. The Blarney Stone is perched at the top of the 15th century castle, reached by a steep climb up a slippery spiral staircase. On the battlements, you bend backwards over a long drop to kiss the stone. Students tried not to think about the local lore of all the fluids that drench the stone other than saliva;). In fact, Alyssa/ABomb said she wouldn't kiss it because of all of the rumors. So, she made a bet... If Edel gave it a quick lick, than she would give it a little smooth. ABomb lost the bet. The custom of kissing the stone is associated with Queen Elizabeth I. She said to have invented the term to talk blarney-out of exasperation with Lord Blarney's ability to talk endlessly without ever actually agreeing to her demands. The majority of the students made the trek up to receive the Gift of the Gab. Kelly said it was a terrifying experience. She was amazed by the perfect timing with weather though. When they were climbing up the castle, it was pouring rain. Then when they reached the top, the heavens cleared and the sun was shining once again. Zoe/Zoe-inator said she was so proud of herself for kissing the Blarney Stone this time. The last time she was in Ireland with her parents, she was too scared to kiss it. Students were able to explore the grounds and then do some shopping in the Blarney Woolen Mills. Afterwards, we went to Cork. We gave the students some money for dinner and they were able to pick a place where they wanted to eat-which was a real treat! A few had Chinese, Italian, and some just settled for Supermac's. A few girls discovered even a larger Penney's than the one in Waterford. Happy Dayz! Before we knew it, the day was coming to end and we had to head home. We stopped in Youghal for a quick bathroom break. Youghal is a beautiful seaside town and is most known for being the location where Moby Dick was filmed in 1956. It was a great day!

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