Strip-off Ireland at Blarney Castle

MORE than 1,100 people yesterday bared all in a frozen June dawn to take part in a nude installation by American artist Spencer Tunick at Blarney Castle.

The installation called for volunteers to be photographed naked at several locations on the Blarney Castle estate over a period of several hours. Participants arrived at 3am and the shoot began at around 5am. It concluded around 9am with Tunick photographing the last 50 volunteers kissing the Blarney Stone.

“Most people came from Cork or the Munster area,” Cork Midsummer Festival director William Galinsky said, “though some came from further afield.”