posted
For years, I've heard tell that locals pee on the Blarney Stone for a good laugh at the expense of the tourists who line up to kiss it. I assume this is a fairly well-known tale, and my mother takes it as gospel, because she's heard it from *actual Irish* people.
I've been to Ireland a few times, but never to Blarney Castle. I'm wondering if it would be possible for people to pee on the Blarney Stone. Since it's a popular tourist attraction, wouldn't it either be too crowded or else guarded when it's closed?
I pointed out to my mom that we know for a fact thousands of people kiss the darn thing, and that alone makes it gross enough to avoid, in my opinion. But, since I live to poke holes in my mom's deeply held beliefs, I just gotta find out whether this is even possible.
----Tobermory
Posts: 136 | From: San Diego | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:As far as the rumors go about Irish Americans urinating on the stone, Donald Swan, who visited the castle with his wife, Mary Fran, said that's hard to believe because castle employees are always on guard in the area.
"I don't know how they're going to urinate on the Blarney Stone, there's somebody right there with you and it's on the outside of this buttress that's up there," Abrahms added. "I would say the equivalent of maybe four stories up, so unless you got, obviously we're talking about males, really good aim I would think the urine's going to go in the air more than anything else."
Rumor has it, of course, that locals get around the guard problem by breaking in at night to urinate on the stone.
posted
Maybe it's the guards who do the urination. Hey, standing around for hours watching touristi kissing a piece of rock has got to be hard on the ol' bladder.
-------------------- Ad astra per asparagus. Posts: 4806 | From: Groton, CT | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
on my one visit to Blarney Castle some 15 years back, i too was surprised to find the stone that you had to "kiss" in such an awkward spot. Mrs suffers a bit of vertigo, so never made it to the top. When i seen how the guards have to hold down your legs as you arched your back a few feet to reach the stone, i thought is was the most ridiculous piece of tourist gimmickery i'd ever seen, and declined to do the deed. As for locals peeing on it...I would be more concerned with the germs on the stone from the amount of people kissing it.
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
I asked the attendants when I visited Blarney Castle the second time - they seemed very frustrated at the repetition of this old canard, and pointed out that it was on private property and the owner would look very dimly on anyone breaking in to do this. Given how widespread the story is - I've heard it for years, all over the world - if it was really taking place with any frequency, steps would have long ago been taken to stop it. There is security in place on the property.
It also strikes me as a hazardous enough thing to do during the day - I wouldn't want to get up there after hours if it were dark! Very narrow, old, twisted winding ruined stairs.
It's also located in fairly open rural and wooded parkland - not exceedingly far from Blarney, but still a bit of a stumble to get up there, undetected, repeatedly.
I could see it happening once as a practical joke, but as a regular occurance...not likely.
The real point in visiting Blarney Castle should be the beauty of the location and the structure. It's set in lovely grounds, and is the very epitome of what a romantic ruined castle should look like. Not even the hoardes and hoardes of tourists can destroy its loveliness - the view from the top over Autumn fields is something spectacular.
Posts: 221 | From: Sydney | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Ew. That picture is disgusting. At least I can now cross it off my "Stupid Tourist Things to Do" list (it was low on the list anyway).
-------------------- "There is no constitutional right to sleep with endangered reptiles." -- Carl Hiaasen Won't somebody please think of the adults! Posts: 8254 | From: Florida | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
My wife did it a few years ago, although I refused and spent the better part of that day sitting in a bar in Clonakilty discussing politics.
Pogue
-------------------- Let's drink to the causes in your life: Your family, your friends, the union, your wife. Posts: 11325 | From: Kentucky | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I asked an Irish friend about this once, and he said it's just fun to tell tourists people do that for the look of utter horror they get on their faces when they realise they've kissed the thing and put two and two together.
-------------------- I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it. --Mitch Hedberg Posts: 37 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Did anyone else read the title as "Local Peeing on Barney...." ?
-------------------- Back in the days before electricity, we were forced to watch TV by candlelight. Posts: 229 | From: Paoli, PA | Registered: Dec 2005
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-------------------- Windows cannot open this file. To open this file correctly, defenestrate, then try running the file again... Posts: 5383 | From: New Zealand | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Pogue Mahone: My wife did it a few years ago, although I refused and spent the better part of that day sitting in a bar in Clonakilty discussing politics.
Pogue
Ok, before I clicked the link I was wondering why your wife peed on that stone and why you would have a picture of it
Gavida
-------------------- "He looked bigger when I couldn't see him" - Jayne Cobb Posts: 359 | From: Essen, NRW, Germany | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Ben Who: "No, no, it's KISSING the Blarney Stone. KISSing. With a K."
In Swedish it wouldn't make any difference.
-------------------- Små hönor skall inte lägga stora ägg för då blir de slarviga i ändan Posts: 1334 | From: Sweden | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Tobermory: For years, I've heard tell that locals pee on the Blarney Stone for a good laugh at the expense of the tourists who line up to kiss it. I assume this is a fairly well-known tale, and my mother takes it as gospel, because she's heard it from *actual Irish* people.
I've been to Ireland a few times, but never to Blarney Castle. I'm wondering if it would be possible for people to pee on the Blarney Stone. Since it's a popular tourist attraction, wouldn't it either be too crowded or else guarded when it's closed?
I pointed out to my mom that we know for a fact thousands of people kiss the darn thing, and that alone makes it gross enough to avoid, in my opinion. But, since I live to poke holes in my mom's deeply held beliefs, I just gotta find out whether this is even possible.
----Tobermory
I wen t a good few years ago and did the deed. As another poster has said, its not a simple operation, with the stone being at the top of a tower with the only way of achieving the deed by arching backwards through a hole in the turret. The stone is actually facing downwards, hence the need for the strange postion. Of course out in the evening in one of Corks fine drinking holes I was regalled by the locals about how they piss on it etc, to which I replied that they must have tremendous bladder pressure and incredible accuracy to reach the thing
-------------------- Wise men say Posts: 5 | From: Birtley, County Durham, UK | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Judging from this picture, I don't think the technical aspect of pissing on the blarney stone would be difficult at all. If I can reach my lips out there, I could certainly get a stream to go that far. I'm surprised nobody else so far has posted to point out that they can do this.
Then again, maybe previous posters were just being humble to avoid this thread becoming a contest of some sort.
-------------------- "For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of the struggle over who's going to govern Iraq strikes me as a classic definition of a quagmire." ~Dick Cheney. Posts: 747 | From: Kansas | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by EssGee: I wiped it before I kissed it. That was about 11 years ago and I'm not dead!
The question is though, are you a gobshite?
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Mr. Billion: Judging from this picture, I don't think the technical aspect of pissing on the blarney stone would be difficult at all. If I can reach my lips out there, I could certainly get a stream to go that far. I'm surprised nobody else so far has posted to point out that they can do this.
Then again, maybe previous posters were just being humble to avoid this thread becoming a contest of some sort.
I think a 90 year-old man with no arms and a 1-inch tool could pee on that . . .
-------------------- It can't rain all the time. Posts: 1102 | From: Iowa | Registered: Oct 2004
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