Tourist hotspots: Historic village of Blarney needs kiss of life

This week we visit some iconic tourist spots to see if they live up to their reputation. Ellie O’Byrne visits Blarney

Leprechauns. Pints of Guinness. The gift of the gab. Blarney, with its 14th-century castle and ritual of kissing the Blarney Stone, is one of Ireland’s oldest and best-established tourist draws.

On a sunny day, with a cruise liner docked in Cobh, the village was thronged with busloads of cheerful visitors keen to put their time in one of Ireland’s premiere attractions to good use.