The Blarney Stone Is Officially Not Gross

A few years ago during one of my best friend's trips to Ireland, we rented a car and drove to some of the tourist hot spots on the island. One of the things we debated doing was taking a trip to the see and kiss the Blarney Stone. We're American and we love all things Irish, so we thought "why not?". However, the guide book we used (if I recall, it was Rick Steves, who I love) noted that the Blarney Stone was kind of gross, covered in saliva, and basically not worthy of our kisses. We took Blarney, Co. Cork off our list of must-sees and chose to go to Kilkenny instead. (By the way, Kilkenny Town is a good time.)

It turns out the Blarney Stone isn't a miss after all. The Irish Examiner and the bosses of Blarney Castle want the world to know that Tripadvisor.com's claims that the stone is disease ridden is an exaggeration and well ... plain old blarney! The stone is kissed by over 400,000 people each year and it is also cleaned every single day. And, by the way, there has never been one formal complaint about stone's hygiene.

Looking back at it now, I kind of like the idea of kissing the iconic stone with the knowledge that it's not covered in disease. So many people have done it (including some of my family members), and the idea of doing something my Aunt did 30 years before me is kind of cool. So, I've warmed up to the idea of kissing the stone but perhaps I'll still sanitize my lips right after!

Have you locked lips with the Blarney Stone? If you had the chance, would you? Even if you're not up for a kiss then perhaps instead I can interest you in a stroll around beautiful Blarney Castle?

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♣ Related Links
Talk of disease ‘is a load of old Blarney’
Famous people who have kissed the Blarney Stone
Diddly Blog

Source; Blarney Stone Image Source; Blarney Castle Image Source

Tags: blarney, diddlyiireland, stone

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Comment by Rebecca @ Diddlyi on July 21, 2009 at 11:29am: Here's the thing: If you don't want to kiss the stone then don't kiss it, right? It's not like you have to do so when you're at the castle. Further to that, if you really want to then show up early in the morning after the stone is freshly cleaned.

Comment by Paul @ Diddlyi on July 21, 2009 at 11:10am: CNN have just announced that the Blarney Stone is indeed gross.

We still don't think so - we trust the Castle people to take good care of it!

Comment by Marisa Feliciano on June 21, 2009 at 6:51pm: good to know beck! i can imagine hygiene would deter some people. i would totally do it tho! lets go some day!

Comment by Paula on June 19, 2009 at 3:13pm: I'm glad to read this...I got to kiss the Blarney Stone last summer even after hearing rumors that the locals pee on it. I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and the castle seemed too well-guarded for pranksters to sneak a leak, so I went for it! Then afterwards I started to worry that I would catch mono!

Comment by Rebecca @ Diddlyi on June 19, 2009 at 10:49am: FYI

The Blarney Stone
From Wikipedia

The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney about 5 miles (8 km) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the Stone and tour the castle and its gardens.

The word blarney has come to mean clever, flattering, or coaxing talk.