Why Do People Kiss the Blarney Stone? PDF Download

Author: Ryan Hackney
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440560064
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Fáilte! Brew yourself a cuppa and settle in to discover...Why Do People Kiss the Blarney Stone? It's the closest you can feel to the Emerald Isle without boarding a plane! You'll tickle your noggin with spirited questions, including: How did a white bull start a war? What is Brian Boru's connection to Guinness? Why was 1847 known as Black '47? Where does peat come from? What's so special about the Book of Kells? This terrific little tome provides the answers to those questions and many more. With information on Irish history, mythology, and culture, you'll be able to go on and on about anything and everything about The Old Sod.

Author: James Lyttleton
Publisher: Four Courts PressLtd
ISBN: 9781846823145
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
Blarney Castle, the medieval home of the MacCarthy lords of Muskerry, is one of Ireland's best-known castles. Many visitors to Ireland include a trip to the castle in their itinerary, often queuing to kiss the Blarney Stone in hope of acquiring the 'gift of the gab.' Yet, despite the castle's ubiquitous image on postcards and tourist promotional literature, there is little acknowledgment of the building's historical and archaeological significance as a native lordly residence. This book - now available in paperback - brings the castle's architecture to the fore, placing it in the context of an expansive native lordship in late medieval Munster, and showing how changes in the layout and appearance of the building can be attributed to the castle's occupants, who continued to redefine their social standing and cultural identity through the Tudor reconquest and beyond.

Author: Scala
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications
ISBN: 1785510827
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Blarney Castle is one of Ireland's most popular attractions, and with new photography of both the castle and grounds, this guide gives a concise overview of the history, as well as the myths and stories that surround the venue. Built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftans, Cormack MacCarthy, Blarney Castle is one of Ireland's most visited monuments. Every year thousands flock to visit the ancient castle and walk through its delightful gardens - and to kiss the Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, which sits at the top of the tower. The castle and gardens are steeped in the history of Ireland; they are a place of mystery, magic and storytelling, in the great Irish tradition. This richly illustrated book presents Blarney in all its glory, giving historical context, a comprehensive tour of the castle, manor house and garden, and a taste of the many myths and legends that draw visitors from all over the world to Blarney today. On this virtual journey, stand on the upper ramparts, look down across 60 acres of sprawling parkland, including gardens, avenues, arboretums and waterways, and experience Blarney at its best.

Author: Lorrie Moore
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307816885
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the bestselling author of A Gate at the Stairs: A collection of twelve stories that’s “one of our funniest, most telling anatomies of human love and vulnerability" (The New York Times Book Review). A volume by one of the most exciting writers at work today, the acclaimed author of Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? and Self-Help. Stories remarkable in their range, emotional force, and dark laughter, and in the sheer beauty and power of their language. From the opening story, "Willing"—about a second-rate movie actress in her thirties who has moved back to Chicago, where she makes a seedy motel room her home and becomes involved with a mechanic who has not the least idea of who she is as a human being—Birds of America unfolds a startlingly brilliant series of portraits of the unhinged, the lost, the unsettled of our America. In the story "Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People" ("There is nothing as complex in the world—no flower or stone—as a single hello from a human being"), a woman newly separated from her husband is on a long-planned trip through Ireland with her mother. When they set out on an expedition to kiss the Blarney Stone, the image of wisdom and success that her mother has always put forth slips away to reveal the panicky woman she really is. In "Charades," a family game at Christmas is transformed into a hilarious and insightful (and fundamentally upsetting) revelation of crumbling family ties. In "Community Life,"a shy, almost reclusive, librarian, Transylvania-born and Vermont-bred, moves in with her boyfriend, the local anarchist in a small university town, and all hell breaks loose. And in "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens," a woman who goes through the stages of grief as she mourns the death of her cat (Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Häagen Dazs, Rage) is seen by her friends as really mourning other issues: the impending death of her parents, the son she never had, Bosnia.

Author: Robert Shelton Mackenzie
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folk literature, Irish
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
"This ... collection from R. Shelton Mackenzie brings together a series of Irish stories, tales, myths, jokes, and folklore collected by the author over the course of his life"--From Google Books.

Author: David Macaulay
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0547770723
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
It is the year 4022; all of the ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that occurred back in 1985. Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization.

Author: Mark Wycliffe Samuel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
* A social history of one of Ireland's most famous sites * Richly illustrated with color photos and maps throughout * Demonstrates why the site is far more than just the Blarney Stone Blarney Castle in County Cork is one of Ireland's oldest and most historic castles, an ancient stronghold of the McCarthys, Lords of Muskerry, and one of the strongest fortresses in Munster. It is also one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions--over 300,000 people visit Blarney Castle each year. This new book sets the castle in a wider context which includes aspects of social, architectural and local history with particular focus on County Cork, including the history of the area around Blarney, the Gaelic society which built the castle, the function of the castle and the gradual development of the property from a well-defended family seat to a major tourist attraction. At the same time it sets the castle within a wider context of national history and events. Since the site controlled a natural route to Cork City and was at the very edge of English Rule in Ireland, there is a relative wealth of extant documentation. Thus the book uses the evidence of both the building itself and of historical material to interpret the castle. A new survey of the castle has been carried out and there is a fresh examination of the evidence it provides and how this illuminates the documentary accounts. The authors draw on their own archaeological expertise to pull together for the first time the historical material from a variety of published sources.

Author: H. V. Morton
Publisher: Hesperides Press
ISBN: 9781406796544
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Originally published in 1930, this book is a collection of witty and heart warming tales from the authors travels around Ireland. It is very clearly written with a huge fondness and is accompanied by picturesque photographs. 'I would like to hope that this book of mine may help, in no matter how small a way, to encourage English people to spend their holidays in Ireland and make friends with its irresistible inhabitants.' Written shortly after the treaty of 1922 which gave the Irish Free State, this book is one that calls for an end to an 'unhappy and regrettable chapter in history'. Contents Include: I Go in Search of Ireland - I See the Book of Kells - The Road Runs Over the Hills to Glendalough and its Churches - I Linger in Horsy Country Towns - I Visit the Trappists of Mount Melleray - Describes the pagan Magic of Kerry - I Come Through a Wild Gorge to the Lakes of Killarney - Describes the 'Treaty Stone' and the Shannon Scheme at Limerick - Tells How the World Ends on the Stone Walls of Connemara - I Go Into the Joyce Country - Describes a Sunset at Mallaranny - I Cross into Northern Island

Author:
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1257976168
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Author: Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade
Publisher: BoD - Books on Demand
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
" Embark on a captivating journey to the enchanting land of Ireland with "Our Little Irish Cousin" by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade, where lush green landscapes, rich folklore, and a warm sense of community prevail. This delightful book introduces readers to a young Irish boy or girl, inviting them to explore the unique culture, traditions, and daily life of the Irish people. In "Our Little Irish Cousin," readers will accompany their Irish cousin on a charming adventure through the rolling hills, ancient castles, and cozy villages of Ireland. Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade's engaging storytelling brings to life the warmth, wit, and resilience of the Irish people. Through the pages of this book, readers will gain insights into Irish history and heritage, including traditional music, dance, and Gaelic language. They will learn about Irish myths and legends, visit bustling markets, and participate in vibrant festivals such as St. Patrick's Day. Join your Irish cousin as you immerse yourself in the beauty of Ireland, savor hearty Irish cuisine, and experience the genuine hospitality and vibrant spirit of the Irish people in this captivating journey."