Ireland — Blarney Castle

Another day, another port. Brilliance of the Seas had left Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the next day we made Cobh, Ireland, the port serving the city of Cork. This would be our last port of call in Ireland before heading west to the Azores. But before heading across the pond, Ursula had us set up for a tour of Blarney Castle, home of the famous Blarney Stone (about which you’ll read in Wednesday’s article).

Blarney Castle is about 38 kilometers/20 miles from Cobh, and it takes about forty minutes for the tour bus to make the trip. The current stone keep here dates back to 1446, having replaced an earlier structure that predated it by about 236 years.

But the keep isn’t the only impressive sight here. There’s also the castle’s watchtower:

One of the most impressive views of Blarney Castle is of the north face of the keep, as explained here:

And here is the north wall:

We’ll return to this subject on Wednesday. Until then, I’ll leave you with this unique view: