The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1917-11-09

" to Barney Castle, be sure
to turn cold shoulder up
on the modern tramway and upon the
motor car. The only way to go
is by the "outside car" or jaunting
car, for this is so entirely Irish.
Up you will Chamber to the rather
rickety step Of the car, thence to
the swinging platform for the feet, up
on which you must maneuver in some
way to turn about and take your seat.
Probably you and your neighbor-if
you have one on your side Of the car
will laugh great deal and clutch each
other excitedly; IL you have the seat
to yourself, you must curl one knee
up before you, In somewhat the way
woman does in riding sidesaddle,
brace yourself against the iron end to
the seat and cling tightly. There's u
knack In riding on an outside car which
1t needs little time to acquire. But,
no matter, you are off-swinging
around corners and jolting over the
cobblestones, through the city, across
a river and out into the sweet green
valley of the Lee which leads to the
village of Barney. If it is spring, the
trees are all daintily, fluffy pale
green, the yellow primroses are begin
ming to show themselves and, perhaps,
there Is here and there a hedge of brill
liant golden gorse. Birds are singing
all around you, too, and the river rip
pies gently over it's stones; but the
probabilities are that your driver will
talk so much that you will not hear
the music Of the river.
He will tell you all about how it was
Cormac MacCarthy, back in the if
teenth century, who built Barney cas-
tie; and how, although the place now
belongs to a local landowner, all the
MacCarthys Of the countryside still
feel that they own the place and are
certain that 1t will one day come back
into the hands Of the family. Every
MacCarthy who plows field, within
sight Of the old jagged keep of Blair
ney castle, looks up at 1t with pride
and sense Of rightful ownership.
kissing the BIarney Stone.
OF course, everyone knows that he
who kisses the Barney stone is sup
posed to gain the gift Of eloquence
The legend goes that the original Cor
mac Mccarthy the Strong one day res
cued woman from the lake; and this
woman was so grateful that she Of
fered, by way Of showing her thanks,
to give Cormac golden tongue. But
she made one condition; in order to
get 1t, he must kiss particular stone,
five feet below the top of the parapet
of Barney Castle. Naturally, Cormac
leaped up the winding steps of the
keep, two steps at time, ran around
the path which encircled the inner
court, lowered himself to where he
could reach the stone which the wom-
an had indicated, and hastily kissed it.
Presumably he was afterwards pos
sessed of marvellous eloquence, and this
Is the reason why all other visitors to
Blarney have wanted to kiss that
stone, tOo-if they are both daring and
steady-headed. For this feat Is not al
together an easy one.
But, by this time, your driver has
put you down by the little Barney
railway station, bidding you cross the
tracks and take a path through the
woods, close by tiny stream. In
rev moments you come out into an
open field, where, sure enough, Mac
Carthy is hoeing the rows; and there,
before you, looms the great keep of
Blarney Castle. The keep Is practi-.
cally all that remains today, though
around it's foot there huddle numer-
Gus crumbling walls and archways,
which show that there were other
buildings, too. Not far away is Blar-
ney Lake, about which the man hoeing
the rows tells you a curious story.
1.-TWO O the gentry" he is saying,
war one while jist afther discussin'
how deep was Barney Lake. Wan O.
thin said 1t was bottomless, an the
other wan he allowed how that was
noways possible at all. SO they agreed
they'd sind down TWO divers This
thing they done prisintly, the gentry
thimselves a-standin by the lakeside
and awatchln'. Down whit them div
crs, but they .niyer come up at all
and, though the gentry klpt a-watchin'
and a-wairin', niver did they see thin
divers again. But, afther eight weeks
1t was, they had letter from thin,
and they was in Australia. They were
Of"
Up on the Castle.
And so you leave the MacCarthy, SO