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Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold 8 km northwest of Cork city, world-famous for the Blarney Stone — said to bestow 'the gift of the gab' on anyone who kisses it. The surrounding 60-acre gardens are equally impressive.
The present castle keep was built by Cormac MacCarthy, Lord of Muskerry, around 1446. The Blarney Stone's legend is popularly linked to Queen Elizabeth I — her frustration with the MacCarthy chieftain's eloquent non-compliance allegedly coined the word 'blarney'.