Eye Spy Stephanie at The Blarney Castle.
God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God – the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. Psalm 18:2
When we left Killarney and was making our way to Dromoland, we stopped for a tour of The Blarney Castle. Wow! The history of this landmark dates back to the tenth century! The castle we observed is the third structure that was built on this land. First, was a wooden structure. The second structure was made of stone and was built around 1210 A.D.. The final structure, the one were toured, was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster in 1446 A.D.. (Visit https://www.blarneycastle.ie/pages/history to read about the lengthy history of this famous landmark.)
Blarney Castle
Tim, Holly, Cole, and I meandered through dungeons, numerous gardens, and a pet cemetery. We climbed trees (or at least Tim and I attempted to do so.) and was in all of all the ancient landscape. Although the castle was an amazing structure, we truly enjoyed our tour through the Blarney Home.
For me, I believe the home was one of my favorite homes to tour in Ireland, because it is STILL lived in. That’s right. You can only tour the home about four months out of the year, but seeing current family photos and a handful of modern touches amidst the centuries old painting, furniture, and architectural details, was beautifully blended to tastefully restore it to its former glory.
The home was build in 1874. It has a stunning view of the Blarney Lake. If I had to live there…okay…I guess I could.
The Blarney House. We LOVED this tour! The family still resides in this home.
I was curious about the difference between a castle and a home, since so many of the homes resembled castles. I was told that castles were built before a certain time period and were built as a symbol of power and to protect from threatening attacks.
Reread the verse previously mentioned, which is from The Message translation. Now, here it is in the ERV:
The LORD is my Rock, my fortress, my place of safety. He is my God, the Rock I run to for protection. He is my shield; by His power I am saved. He is my hiding place high in the hills. Psalm 18:2
I believe you see where I’m going with this. God is The Castle in which I live! He isn’t only a symbol of power, He IS Power. God IS The Protector. Threats are all around, so run Run RUN to Him!
The famous Blarney Stone, that you are supposed to kiss, wasn’t happening for us. Instead of waiting 90 minutes for the opportunity to kiss a stone that tons of lips have touched, we chose to continue our tour on the grounds. LOL
It is my prayer that you will cling to The Rock at all times. Praise God that HE saves. He saves all!
I hope you are enjoying our trip to Ireland via photography. Recently someone commented on the Facebook Soaking Up The Son page “Love your pictures and your blog!!”, and I replied “Thanks. I just want to share the world with y’all and Jesus with the world.” This is so true! I LOVE sharing Jesus with others, and if just one can be reached by me sharing vacation photos and tying them into God’s truth, then I’m all in. THANK YOU!!! (If you are on Facebook, please go like the page. I often share videos, photos, or other tidbits on there that I don’t always post on the website.)
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie
Cole (who is over six feet tall), finding his way through the dungeon.
So grateful I don’t have to maneuver my way through a dungeon daily. A massage would definitely be needed.
Two of my loves taking a selfie.
You’ve just gotta stop and smell the roses.
Peacefulness.
Too cool! I failed at the attempt to jump up onto the tree. These youngins though…
Me and my man
How long do you think I have to wait to have a tree like this on our property?
Cole
Holly
So many paths. So many gardens. So much beauty.
I’m sure Cole is contemplating as to how we can get this in our backyard. Get digging and building, Cole.
I’m serious! Tim and I really want this. LOL. Holly said she spend all day in the garden.
We really want our backyard to look like this.
I’m not quite sure of their poses. LOL
Praise the Lord we have refrigerators and freezers now. Can I get an Amen?
The entrance to the sewage.
Yuck. This is bottom of their sewage container. (I think.)
The ancient trees were amazing!
I wonder if Stephen King got his idea for “Pet Cemetery” here.
A walk through the Poison Garden.
Cole and Holly walking one of the many gardens at Blarney Castle.
Two of my loves taking a selfie.
We are not sure why you’d see these Polynesian structures around the gardens.
For all the information on the castle please visit: https://www.blarneycastle.ie/
