WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?
by Randy Karr

Having just left a port city that was the Titanic's last stop before departing for America, you have made your way to this country's best-known castle ruin, one located on an island divided by a religious conflict rooted in its past. Dating from 1444, the castle tower you see was owned by Lord Cormac MacCarthy, who had the infinite ability to talk without ever agreeing to the endless demands of Queen Elizabeth I. His ability to talk persuasively and eloquently provoked the British monarch to say, "This is all blarney! What he says, he never means." Lord MacCarthy was given what man thought to be the other half of the original Stone of Scone, a block of sandstone associated with the coronation of Scottish and English sovereigns. He embedded the stone into a nearly inaccessible spot on the top of his 83-foot-tall castle tower. For centuries, many came to kiss the stone, which legend said conferred the gift of eloquence, or, as a less genteel French diplomat put it, "the privilege of telling lies for seven years." To obtain the "gift of gab", busloads of present day pilgrims climb the 127 slippery steps to the top of the battlements and pucker up to kiss the hallowed stone. Once possessed with eloquence, they head to a nearby woolen mill selling a full line of tacky to quality items, some of which come with a "no blarney guarantee." Where in the world are you, anyway? Name this emerald isle country and its famous castle.

Click on the photo to reveal the answer.

©2007 Randy Karr