GARRYCLOYNE

In 1868, the parish of Garrycloyne contained the following places:

"GARRYCLOYNE, a parish in the baronies of East Muskerry and Barretts, county Cork, province of Munster, Ireland, 4 miles N.W. of Cork, its post town. It contains the village of Blarney. The surface is undulating, and consists of a good average soil, which is watered in the interior by the river Blarney. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Cloyne, value £1,272, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was built about 1777, and is a handsome structure of the Doric order. The Roman Catholic chapel is a neat Gothic building united to that of Whitchurch, and there is another in the parish at Grenaugh. Here are a Sunday, parish, and four or five private schools. Garryclone House is an old mansion, built by the Clancarty family in 1535. The other seats are Abbeyville and Blarney Castle. Limestone for manure is obtained at Blarney."

"BLARNEY, a village in the parish of Garrycloyne, barony of East Muskerry, in the county of Cork, and province of Munster, Ireland, 5 miles to the N.W. of Cork, and 160 miles from Dublin. It is a station on the Great Southern and Western railway. The village is seated on the river Blarney, which is here joined by the Comane, and is crossed by a bridge of three arches. This place was formerly the seat of a thriving trade. The linen manufacture, in which at one time above 12 mills were employed, was succeeded by the cotton manufacture, which flourished but a short time and then decayed. There is still a large mill, in which many of the villagers are employed in the worsted and woollen manufacture. The scenery surrounding the village is beautiful, and chiefly woodland: the oft-sung "groves of Blarney" being very real, extensive, and delightful. The chief object of general interest here is the old castle, the remains of which stand on a lofty limestone rock by the river, from which there is a wide view over the country as far as the Boggra mountains. One of the kings of South Munster had a hunting-seat on this spot, and a castle was erected at the commencement of the 13th century, on the site of which the present structure was reared in 1446 by Cormac McCarthy, a hero of royal descent. It was destroyed, with the exception of the tower, at the Revolution of 1688. In an angle of the tower, about 20 feet from the summit, is a stone with a Latin inscription, recording the erection of the castle and the name of the founder. This is the famous "Blarney Stone," possessed, according to vulgar tradition, of the power of inspiring whosoever succeeds in kissing it with the gift of resistless flattery and dauntless lying. Few venture, it is said, on the perilous experiment of being lowered within reach of it. There are several large caves under the castle, containing some fine stalactites and stalagmites. The parish church of Garrycloyne stands in this village. Petty sessions are held once a fortnight, and a police force is stationed here. There are also a large National school and a dispensary. Fairs are held on the 18th September and the 11th November."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018