Blarney Island

Been coming to Blarney for years, since I was a little kid is been in that island at least once a year. They’ve made some awesome improvements. No longer are the days of being a little run down and underwear on the ceiling (though I never complained about that, definitely added character) the whole island has been remodeled, updated and I think even made bigger, or at least it feels bigger. Drinks are reasonably to slightly high priced. The food is decent bar food for being in the middle of a lake and they always have live music going in some form or another on the weekends. If you don’t have a boat you can take the shuttle from the port of Blarney on land. Thursdays are prob the best nights to go because they do the boat races you can watch from the island. Definitely hand to check it out if your ever in the chain!

To the two dudes who bartended at 10:00 p. m on July 31^st FUCK YOU FOR IGNORING ME AND MY BF! fucking racists pigs. Waiting there for idk how long to get our drinks! Pinche putos! Learn how to respect your guests! Smh blarneys needs to hire better people more like not kids ADULTS even if they were adults. ACT LIKE IT! Smh

Fun place. An interesting night when you’re with a group of friends. The band was playing all 90s and early 2000 songs, which made for a nice throwback. Bartenders were all quick and courteous. The only drawbacks really are the natural lake and outdoor smells (if you’re used to it, it doesn’t matter though.) The bathrooms are obviously the worst part to the place. While not expected to be clean, both men’s and women’s bathrooms had vomit covering various stalls and parts of the floor by 11pm…

Let’s start this review by saying that it is a place to have fun and party.
Balarny’s is a bar that was built on stilts to have fun. Don’t expect great food or craft cocktails, but you can dance to a live band with a coors light. Think frat bar with an island theme. On the weekends in the summer it gets full.
I’ve had a lot of fun here and recommend finding a sober boat driver or taking the ferry. It’s not worth it folks.

This place is total cheese and great for people watching. I don’t have a boat so I catch the ferry for the port of blarney bar which is a short boat ride to the floating bar know as blarney island. They always have bands playing and have a few bars to get a beer and sit in the sun or shade to enjoy the show. The quality of bands here is generally not great and it’s pretty loud and can get quite packed. So I often find myself wanted to head back after only 1 beer but since I payed my $ 8 – 10 for the ferry I stick it out and suck down a few more before my ferry ride back. It’s a place you should experience at least once. Oh and the collection of old bras and panties in the inside bar is very fitting for this place. Lol like I said its a good spot to people watch.

So fun!!! We went here after boating on the lake all day and there was food and booze and people having a good time! We got to watch boat races and just chill out! I was actually really disappointed that we had to leave before any of the night time activities started. I would definitely go back!

Blarney Island is the «Key West of the Midwest» — I’ve heard about this place for years and years… never made the hike up there. I made the hike to the port over Memorial Day Weekend, but that is as close as I got. I finally made it up there this weekend to see what the hype was about.
You can get there via boat (your own boat) or the shuttle/​boat that belongs to Blarney Island.
As for my trip up there, we were getting picked up by a friend’s boat. We got to the Port of Blarney and we had to pay for parking, which was more of a better deal… just so they made sure people were parking in their lot and actually going to the island. So long story short here… you pay $ 10 for a ticket (per person) and that is to use for food/​drink on the island.
Once you get to the island… it’s just a bar, in the middle of the water. A big bar — most people are intoxicated there I must say but people are all having a good time. There was no cover, and live music. The bathroom line for the women’s bathroom was pretty lengthy but not really surprising.
Overall, I must say this is among the top «cool» places in Illinois for sure! It’s just like being on vacation…

No matter how high you build a dump, it is still a dump.
Please, just let it die, and give your space back to nature, which, by the way, IS the epicenter of the chain, not your dive bar.