Despite years of being kissed by the tourists and dismissed by theIrish, the Blarney Stone seems to have kept its blas. What draws sane people to turn upside-down in a castle? Nancy Mattsey has just kissed the stone. Does she have a minute to talk? 'Yes, but not for long - I have to shop!'

Blarney  Castle is one of those places with which we are all familiar - but how many Irish people have ever been there, let alone kissed that famous Blarney Stone?

In Blarney, Co Cork, on a summer evening, in the Lemon Tree Restaurant on the village green, the only diners are myself and two American couples. For supposedly the busiest time of year in a prime tourist destination, it doesn't look good. John Brown, spokesman for Bord Fáilte, confirms what we already know: tourist numbers this year are way down. "There is a 20 per cent drop in the US market this year," he reports. "And the US \ stay longer and spend more than most other visitors, so that is a significant drop in money coming into the country. Mainland Europe figures are also down, especially for German visitors."

Tourists are harder to spot this year, but Blarney is such a stalwart attraction that it seems most tourists eventually make their way there. The village looks curiously English, and innocuous, with a little village green, neat shop fronts, well-tended gardens and meandering Martin River. Only the enormous, overwhelming size of the Blarney Woollen Mills shop indicates that this is a major tourist destination: it is cavernous, coming down with everything from chocolate leprechauns to Waterford Crystal, from thousands of gansaís to linen handkerchiefs, Guinness mousemats, and Musical Irish Cottages. It takes several minutes just to walk from one side of the shop to the other.

The reason for all this consumerism lies across the village green, its ramparts square against the moody sky. There is a constant flow of people getting off tour buses and making their way towards the castle of the Blarney Stone fame. Stories of how the Blarney Stone got its powers vary, but the general outline is as follows. A castle was built on the site early in the 13th century, and replaced by the present building in the mid 15th century by the McCarthys. The famous stone, according to one version, is part of the Stone of Sconce which was originally Scottish, and reputedly given to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce as a gesture of appreciation for his support in the Battle of Bannockburn.

The Blarney bit comes from Queen Elizabeth I getting nowhere when she tried to make McCarthy sign over his land to her under title. So loquacious was he in avoiding the issue that she declared he was giving her "Blarney" and thus a legend was begun. Or so the story goes.

The castle looks suitably romantic, with an impressive aspect and walls that seem to go up forever. En route, you cross a stream some three times, and at each bridge, there are hundreds of coins shining bright in the clear water nearby. The official Blarney Castle map of the park you get on entrance is full of the said blarney: also marked on the map are nonsensical-sounding places called Witches Kitchen, Head Druid's Cave, Fairy Glade, Wishing Steps, and, silliest of all, Sacrificial Altar.

Once you're at the top of the castle, there is a stone walkway round the atrium-type perimeter of the tower, with the banqueting hall far below. The traffic runs clockwise once you're up on the ramparts; a shuffling line towards the Stone, where David Daly awaits you.

Daly has been holding the legs of stone-kissers for four seasons now, and reckons he's had some 2,000 people through his hands already that day. The stone is set down into the wall, and you have to lean back on a rubber mat, grab hold of the metal bars and trust Daly does not let you drop. There are bars to catch you should you fall, "But I've not lost anyone yet," Daly says. When there is a lull in the crowds, he sprays the stone with stuff from a bottle marked Anti-Bacterial Cleaner.

Carolyn Casey, Patricia Magee and Becky James are three English friends travelling together. Why kiss the stone? "Because it's there!" Casey quips. "Because I talk Blarney all the time and now I have a reason for doing it!" laughs Magee.

"Because it's supposed to be done," James says, a comment echoed by everyone else I speak to. You know a place has made it as a tourist attraction when it somehow mystically acquires the status of the must-see.

"Is it true what the locals do to the stone?" asks Katherine Sherry from Melbourne. "We heard stories that they . . ."

"Urinate on it," finishes her brother, James.

I assure them it is most unlikely local men pay an entrance every time they need to relieve themselves. They are circumspect about coming to Blarney. "It's something you have to do in Ireland," James says. "Like being in Paris and climbing the Eiffel Tower."

Chris and Peggy Langan and daughter Kathiann are from New Jersey. Why have they kissed the stone?

"It's a tradition. It's famous in the US, everyone knows about it. The Irish have the gift of the gab," Peggy says. "It's really true. You can make great conversations."

But what about the fact most Irish people have never come within an ass's roar of Blarney? "You already have the gift of the gab," Peggy points out. "So you don't need to kiss it."

Chris indicates in the direction of the person currently suspended over the stone. "This would never happen in the US," he says. "Legislation would never allow it. It would be considered too dangerous and too unhygienic."

"And those narrow stairs you have to climb! No lift!" Peggy marvels. "In the US, you probably wouldn't even be allowed into the castle at all, let alone up here because of safety regulations."

Nancy and Ken Mattsey have just kissed the stone. Do they have a minute to talk? "Yes, but not for long - I have to shop!" Nancy declares.

"The attraction for us is the mystical part of it," says Ken. "A castle!"

THE Nauert family from Tampa, Florida are Michelle, Brad and their two children Alexandra (10) and Mark (6). With them is Michelle's mother, Anna Rodgers. Alexandra stares at me in silence. "You're supposed to have the gift of the gab now!" prompts her mother, but her daughter remains gab-less. "The Blarney Stone is very famous in the US," Michelle says. "When people heard I was coming to Ireland, several of them told me to kiss it."

But do they not think the idea of kissing a stone reputed to have power of Irish-like gab-giving is a right rip-off yarn? "No," replies Rodgers stoutly. "Because the Irish are eloquent. And we, Americans, are still looking for something like that, something special. Everyone needs something to dream about, don't they?"

Walking back across the grounds I look down at all the coins glittering in the stream again, and realise each must have been tossed in with a wish attached. Everyone indeed needs something to dream about, and for some people at least, that dream would appear to reside in Blarney.

Blarney Castle August opening hours: Mon-Sat, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sun, 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Entrance: €7 Under 8s free. tel: 021 4385252