Blarney
Blarney
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Blarney

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Blarney

Blarney (Irish: An Bhlarna, meaning 'the little field') is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork City in Ireland. It is located approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-west of the city centre. It is the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone. Blarney is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. It is surrounded by the suburban villages of Tower, Cloghroe and Kerry Pike, all on the outskirts of Cork City.

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

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 several suggested roots, involving members of the MacCarthy dynasty – builders and original owners of Blarney Castle.

Built in 1823, Blarney Woollen Mills was originally known as Mahony's Mills. It was a water-powered mill, producing mainly tweeds and woollens. After closing in the early 1970s, the mills was re-invented by local entrepreneur Christy Kelleher as a gift store servicing tourists visiting the village.

The Square in the centre of the village is a grass field where Blarney locals and townspeople sometimes congregate during the summer. Several attempts to develop the square, over the years, have always been met with stiff objection from the locals.[citation needed] Previously, the square was used for markets.

Blarney formerly had its own narrow gauge railway station. The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway linked Blarney (CMLR) railway station with Cork; it opened in 1887 but closed on 29 December 1934. As of 2016, a proposed new station at Blarney (originally due for service some years previously on the Dublin-Cork railway line) remained in the proposal phase.

The town is served by a number of Bus Éireann services, including the number 215 bus every half an hour from Mahon Point via Cork city centre and the number 235 bus from Cork city at a lesser frequency.

The nearest airport is Cork Airport.

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