# Expected gift from Ireland? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703 "2014-05-05T11:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/41 "2014-05-06T23:55:00Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > My mum used to bring back peat briquettes ffs. Will google when sober. W.T.F? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/42 "2014-05-07T00:07:56Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > That’s an old tale people here like to tell. Nonsense I imagine, since the stone isn’t lying in a field on its own. Yeah, in order to do that, they’d either have to break in there at night or somehow convince the employees to let them urinate on the stone while all the people behind them waited patiently to kiss it. For reference, [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/53157520@N07/7238718258/in/set-72157629823828720) is a picture I took of Blarney Castle. See the little hole near the top of the castle? That’s where the Blarney Stone is. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/43 "2014-05-07T01:22:33Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Yeah, in order to do that, they’d either have to break in there at night or somehow convince the employees to let them urinate on the stone while all the people behind them waited patiently to kiss it. > > For reference, [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/53157520@N07/7238718258/in/set-72157629823828720) is a picture I took of Blarney Castle. See the little hole near the top of the castle? That’s where the Blarney Stone is. Having said that, we used to play as kids in a local castle that was similar to that. It was under lock and key but wasn’t all that hard to climb the walls. Although there was no economic interest in keeping us out. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/44 "2014-05-07T03:42:54Z")
Hint about whiskey. Mention how tweed and wool make you uncomfortably warm. **An Gadaí’s** comments about cultural appropriation by Guinness made me recall my 12 year old son’s comment after we’d gone to Ireland to visit the family. Whenever he was asked how the trip went, he’d deadpan ‘We were so busy we never got to visit the Lucky Charms factory’. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/45 "2014-05-07T11:48:25Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Yeah, in order to do that, they’d either have to break in there at night or somehow convince the employees to let them urinate on the stone while all the people behind them waited patiently to kiss it. > > For reference, [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/53157520@N07/7238718258/in/set-72157629823828720) is a picture I took of Blarney Castle. See the little hole near the top of the castle? That’s where the Blarney Stone is. Our tour guide told us that same story when I was there last spring and it sounded silly even then, before I saw the castle tower. I mean, even if somebody did spit or pee on it, it gets rained on nearly every day and washed off. I didn’t bother with it myself because a) I was developing a cold and b) you had to stand in line on the stairs for 45 minutes to an hour and we only had a couple of hours there. So I walked around the castle gardens instead and they were very nice. BTW, just across the road from the castle grounds is a very large 3-story shopping mall called Blarney Mills where you can get all kinds of kitschy, cheap tourist things with leprechauns and shamrocks on them. Kayaker, maybe that’s what your friend will bring back. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/46 "2014-05-07T11:59:30Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > That’s an old tale people here like to tell. Nonsense I imagine, since the stone isn’t lying in a field on its own. But remember, when you kiss the Blarney Stone you kiss everyone who ever kissed the Blarney Stone before you. Got it. No tongues. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/47 "2014-05-07T12:09:38Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Got it. No tongues. I hope they got a picture. The one on Wikipedia shows that you don’t just walk up and kiss a rock. BTW, **Mangetout** , when she went to London with a friend a couple years ago (on a Pub & Cemetery trip) she returned with some great foodie experiences. Thanks to the UK I often have baked beans with breakfast! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/48 "2014-05-07T13:35:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I hope they got a picture. The one on Wikipedia shows that you don’t just walk up and kiss a rock. Yeah, you literally hang upside down to do it. I just took a look at the Wikipedia page and that’s exactly how you have to do it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/49 "2014-05-07T13:38:25Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Yeah, in order to do that, they’d either have to break in there at night or somehow convince the employees to let them urinate on the stone while all the people behind them waited patiently to kiss it. > > For reference, [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/53157520@N07/7238718258/in/set-72157629823828720) is a picture I took of Blarney Castle. See the little hole near the top of the castle? That’s where the Blarney Stone is. The story I read (which I think is in Frank Herbert’s “The White Plague”) is that it was the employees who would piss on it, either after closing or before opening. Then they’d secretly laugh at all the tourists kissing it. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/50 "2014-05-07T14:00:05Z")
For a proper gift branded drinks glasses shouldn’t be bought from a shop but nicked from a pub. Then presented unwashed so you can smell the original contents. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/51 "2014-05-07T14:12:00Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > For a proper gift branded drinks glasses shouldn’t be bought from a shop but nicked from a pub. Then presented unwashed so you can smell the original contents. I like the way you think. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/52 "2014-05-07T14:20:29Z")
Guinness-related things, eh? [Like one of these?](http://www.mwctoys.com/images/review_uqsobiwan_6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/53 "2014-05-07T14:33:16Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Guinness-related things, eh? > > [Like one of these?](http://www.mwctoys.com/images/review_uqsobiwan_6.jpg) I like to order, “a pint of that genius, please”. Lots of wooshing when I do that. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/54 "2014-05-07T15:25:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Guinness-related things, eh? > > [Like one of these?](http://www.mwctoys.com/images/review_uqsobiwan_6.jpg) What are you, a smart alec? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/55 "2014-05-10T14:13:21Z")
So, my sweetie has returned form her trip to Ireland, filled with stories about castles, green pastures, sheep, full Irish breakfasts, etc. But no gifts. Her luggage is still in Newark. Anticipate delivery tomorrow. There Will Be Gifts.😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/56 "2014-05-10T14:53:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, my sweetie has returned form her trip to Ireland, filled with stories about castles, green pastures, sheep, full Irish breakfasts, etc. > > But no gifts. > > Her luggage is still in Newark. Anticipate delivery tomorrow. There Will Be Gifts.😃 Yay, presents! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/57 "2014-05-11T11:22:58Z")
She done good.😃 For the man cave, [Two Guinness signs and a bottle opener.](http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv174/kayaker01/20140511_070512_zpsfwqzpsfr.jpg) [A rugby shirt.](http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv174/kayaker01/20140511_070306_zpseqcqodzo.jpg) [A tweed cap!](http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv174/kayaker01/20140511_070118_zpszwjrjqyg.jpg) All are things I’d have picked out for me self! ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/58 "2014-05-11T13:25:33Z")
Let me guess: She asked your “friend” to tell you to expect lace as a present. As a gentle way of messing with your head–while she fully attended to bring you some excellent presents! ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/59 "2014-05-11T13:33:49Z")
Also: It’s Paddy, not Patty you feckless gombeen. [http://paddynotpatty.com/](http://paddynotpatty.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703/60 "2014-05-11T13:35:10Z")
You made out well! Lovely gifts! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expected-gift-from-ireland/687703.md?page=4)