Just outside Cork City lies the village of Blarney.  Here you will see the picturesque Blarney castle and the celebrated and much kissed sacred stone which is said to give you the gift of gab or, as an 18th century French consulate put it, "gain the privilege of telling lies for seven years". Queen Elizabeth I coined the phrase due to her exasperation with Lord Blarney's ability to talk endlessly without ever actually agreeing to her demands. To kiss the Blarney Stone, you must bend over backward and lower yourself down about two feet at the top of the castle.