Blarney Defined

The tour of the castle grounds and the castle itself includes many charming and humorous signs that impart lots of information  about the Castle and it's visitors.  The origins of the term "blarney" is told on one such sign.  The story goes that Cormac Teige MacCarthy,  the Lord of Blarney, was the recipient of demands by Queen Elizabeth I to agree to own his lands under legal tenure from the Crown.  He would answer every letter from the Queen and every demand with a flattering letter of his own, professing his loyalty to her but not actually agreeing to so hold his lands.  Legend has it the Queen tired of his words and  in her frustration shouted, "This is all Blarney, he never means what  he says, he never does what he promises!"  And thus, the word was born.