The Blarney Stone () is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about from the centre of

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with ''the gift of the gab'' (great

eloquence Eloquence (from French language, French ''eloquence'' from Latin ''eloquentia'') is the quality of speech or writing that is marked by fluency, elegancy, and persuasiveness. It is also defined as one of the aims of formal oratory and, in this ...

or skill at

flattery Flattery, also called adulation or blandishment, is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of Ingratiation, ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or ...

). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens. The word '' blarney'' has come to mean "clever, flattering, or coaxing talk". Irish politician John O'Connor Power defined it this way: "Blarney is something more than mere flattery. It is flattery sweetened by humour and flavoured by wit. Those who mix with Irish folk have many examples of it in their everyday experience."

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

described its contemporary meaning in an article entitled "Blarney Castle" in 1832.

Origins

A number of stories attempt to explain the origin of the stone and surrounding legend. An early story involves the goddess Clíodhna. Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle, being involved in a lawsuit in the 15th century, appealed to Clíodhna for her assistance. She told MacCarthy to kiss the first stone he found in the morning on his way to court, and he did so, with the result that he pleaded his case with great eloquence and won. Thus the Blarney Stone is said to impart "the ability to deceive without offending". MacCarthy then incorporated it into the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

of the castle. The proprietors of Blarney Castle list several other explanations of the origins of the stone on their website. Many of these suppose that the stone had previously been in Ireland, was taken to Scotland and then returned to Ireland in 1314. The stories listed include one suggesting that the stone was presented to Cormac MacCarthy by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

in 1314 in recognition of his support in the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

. This legend holds that this was a piece of the

Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone (; , meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; ) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century, and thereafter in the coronation of Englis ...

and was installed at MacCarthy's castle of Blarney. Although colourful, this folk legend does not account for the fact that it supposes that the stone was removed from Scotland 18 years before Bannockburn. Moreover, an analysis by geologists at the University of Glasgow in 2014 found the stone's geochemical signature matches limestone found in the Blarney area.

Ritual

The ritual of kissing the Blarney Stone, according to the castle's proprietors, has been performed by "millions of people", including "world statesmen, literary giants ndlegends of the

silver screen A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scr ...

". The kiss, however, is not casually achieved. To touch the stone with one's lips, the participant must ascend to the castle's peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet's edge. This is traditionally achieved with the help of an assistant. Although the parapet is now fitted with wrought-iron guide rails and protective crossbars, the ritual can still trigger attacks of

acrophobia Acrophobia, also known as hypsophobia, is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share similar ...

Before the safeguards were installed, the kiss was performed with real risk to life and limb, as participants were grasped by the ankles and dangled bodily from the height. In the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

radio dramatisation "The Adventure of the Blarney Stone" (first broadcast on 18 March 1946), a man attempting to kiss the Blarney Stone falls to his death. Holmes' investigation reveals this as a murder, the man's boots having been surreptitiously greased before the attempt. William Henry Hurlbert wrote in 1888 that the legend of the stone seemed to be less than a hundred years old at that time, suggesting the tradition began late in the 18th century. The legend of the Blarney Stone was described in ''A classical dictionary of the vulgar tongue'' by Francis Grose, printed 1785.

Legend

It is claimed that the synonymy of "blarney" with "empty flattery" or "beguiling talk" derives from one of two sources. One story involves the goddess Clíodhna and Cormac Laidir MacCarthy (see "Origins" above). Another legend suggests that

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

requested Cormac MacDermot MacCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, be deprived of his traditional land rights. Cormac travelled to see the queen, but was certain he would not persuade her to change her mind as he wasn't an effective speaker. He met an old woman on the way who told him that anyone who kissed a particular stone in Blarney Castle would be given the gift of eloquent speech. Cormac went on to persuade the queen that he should not be deprived of his land. Echoing the supposed power of the stone, an Irish bard of the early 19th century,

Francis Sylvester Mahony Francis Sylvester Mahony (31 December 1804 – 18 May 1866), also known by the pen name Father Prout, was an Irish humorist and journalist. Life He was born in Cork (city), Cork, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Ireland, to Martin ...

, added a number of (humorous) lines to Richard Alfred Millikin's "''The Groves of Blarney''" (right). According to tradition at Texas Tech University, a stone fragment displayed on its campus since 1939 is a missing piece of the Blarney Stone. How this was determined is unknown.

In music and literature

The traditional Irish song "The Blarney Stone" ( Roud 4800) has been recorded by artists including Tom Lenihan, Margaret Barry and Bob Davenport. "The Blarney Stone" is also the name of a song by American rock band Ween. To accompany a picture of the Castle by William Henry Bartlett in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832,

gives a number of examples of blarney from historical personages. In Chuck Palahniuk's novel ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel ''Fight Club (novel), Fight Club'' by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays The Narrator (F ...

'' (1996), the protagonist reminisces about urinating on the Blarney stone on a trip to Ireland after leaving college.

References

External links

Blarney Castle & Gardens: The Home of the Blarney Stone

Photos and Description
* , in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832, painted by William Henry Bartlett and engraved by T. Dixon, with accompanying text by

. {{Authority control 1446 establishments in Ireland Stones Clíodhna Irish folklore Limestone MacCarthy dynasty Superstitions of Europe Tourist attractions in County Cork Individual rocks Elizabeth I