Irish visitors are kissing the Blarney Stone as US tourists stay away
IF you’ve been saving the kissing of the Blarney Stone for a bucket list task, now is your opportunity to mark it done!
And, according to Paul O’Sullivan of Blarney Castle, it seems that Irish people are seizing the opportunity, afforded by much shorter queues, to take part in the long standing traditional way of gaining the gift of the gab.
“American tourists, who used to be 40% of our trade, aren’t travelling because of the pandemic but Irish tourists are now visiting and kissing the Blarney Stone,” said Paul.
Hygiene is something which would have always been a high priority for the team at Blarney Castle and Gardens as throughout the years they would have been cautious to ensure that nothing except the gift of the gab was transmitted by the stone, which is kissed by hundreds of thousands ever year.
“We went to great lengths over the last number of months to put a series of health and safety measures in place,” said Paul.
The Blarney Castle team worked with a company called ENVA, who have developed spray which they claim kills 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses, including the human Coronavirus at the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This has been tested on the stone to show its effectiveness in killing viruses but also that it is safe for people to come in contact with. This new spray is used on the stone and allowed to dry for a period of one minute.”
Paul says this the success of such sprays is supported by a review published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.
He said he and the team did a lot of work while the attraction was closed to ensure the safest experience possible.
There are numerous hand sanitiser stations in place around the building and extra precautions are being taken by the staff to protect themselves and visitors from any possible infection. Castle owner Charles Coldhurst was the first to kiss the stone on the day it reopened at the end of June.