Blarney Stone 8th Ave

In case you didn’t know, “Blarney Stone” is Irish for “dive bar.” Want proof? Check out any of the 1.5 million bars in Manhattan that sport the name. The Blarney Stone, which the bar is named after, is thought to be half of the Stone of Scone, and legend and PR have it that kissing it gives one enhanced powers of oration and prevarication such as those that allowed Cormac Teige McCarthy to frustrate Queen Elizabeth I. It’s sort of ironic, because hanging out in one of the Blarney Stones which blight Manhattan like toadstools after a rainfall is actually apt to make you incoherent, with a fogged-in look in your eyes. Had Cormac Teige spent much time in the Blarney Stone, Ireland might have suffered a great deal under British rule. Oh, wait. – Shecky’s