Blarney

Blarney An Bhlárna
Location
Coordinates: 51°55′59″N 8°34′05″W / 51.933067°N 8.567952°W / 51.933067; -8.567952
Irish grid reference W610759
Statistics
Province:	Munster
County:	County Cork
Population (2006)	5,226

Blarney (An Bhlárna in Irish) is a town in the south of Ireland, located 8 km north-west of Cork, Ireland. It is the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone.

Tourism

Blarney town is a major tourist attraction in County Cork. Mostly people come to see the castle, kiss the stone, and to shop at the Blarney Woolen Mills center.

Blarney Castle

Blarney Stone

By kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, it is claimed that one can receive the "Gift of the Gab" (eloquence, or skill at flattery or persuasion). The legend has its roots in the response of the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth I to Cormac Teige McCarthy's attempt to blandish his way out of a difficult situation, during negotiations of the takeover of the Blarney Castle by the occupying English forces. Cormac himself was the King of Munster, living in the Blarney Castle around the 14th century. The stone itself is rumoured to have been created by a witch during the Middle Ages.

Square

The centre of the village is dominated by The Square - a grass field where Blarney locals and townspeople from Cork city sometimes congregate during the summer.

Several attempts to beautify the square over the years have always been met with stiff objection from the locals.^{[citation needed]} Previously the square was used for markets.

Transport

Blarney formerly had its own narrow gauge railway station. The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway linked Blarney with Cork; it opened in 1887 but closed on 29 December 1934.

The nearest airport is Cork Airport.The Village is served by the no 224 and 234 bus from Cork city run by Bus Eireann

Economy and media

The Blarney economy is heavily-dependent on the largely US tourism trade, with numerous hotels and guest houses in the area to serve this demand.

The Muskerry News is the local paper for Blarney and surrounding areas and is printed monthly. Local radio stations that can be picked up in the Blarney area are RedFM, C103, 96fm and Life FM.

Education

There is a Roman Catholic boys' primary school Scoil An Chroí Ró Naofa which caters for approximately 154 pupils and is situated in the centre of the village.

A girls school, Scoil Íosagáin na gCailíní was built nearby in 1974 to accommodate the girls of the parish, whilst the boys received a new extension to their school in 1986.

Blarney is also the home of a secondary school called Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál which was established in 1952.

Sport

The local soccer club, Blarney United FC, has playing facilities close to the village, with both a traditional grass pitch and a FIFA-approved all-weather pitch.^{[citation needed]} The pitches are supported by changing facilities, a meeting room and a hospitality room. The club has more than 300 underage players (boys and girls aged 6 to 16),^{[citation needed]} and also fields a youth team and three adult teams. The senior team competes in the Premier Division of the Munster Senior League.^[6]

Blarney also has a GAA club. Blarney GAA are the All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Champions of 2009 and are the Cork-County Intermediate Hurling Champions for 2008. Blarney also fields a Camogie team, which was established again in 1999.

See also

Look up blarney in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

• Official Blarney Castle website
• Website of Blarney secondary school, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
• Blarney Boy's National School Website
• Blarney Woollen Mills Website
• The official website of Blarney United FC
• Blarney GAA's website

Coordinates: 51°55′59″N 8°34′05″W / 51.933067°N 8.567952°W / 51.933067; -8.567952