The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney about 8 km from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). 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 charming gardens. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2032 × 1354 pixel, file size: 955 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of the taken in October 2006 by Srleffler I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2032 × 1354 pixel, file size: 955 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of the taken in October 2006 by Srleffler I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Bluestone is the name given to a form of dolerite which appears blue when wet or freshly broken. ... Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ... This article is about the city in the Republic of Ireland. ... Eloquence (from Latin eloquentia) is fluent, forcible, elegant or persuasive speaking in public. ... Events Mehmed II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is forced to abdicate in favor of his father Murad II by the Janissaries. ...

The word blarney has come to mean clever, flattering, or coaxing talk.

History

View of the Blarney Stone from the ground

The stone, which is believed by some to be half of the original Stone of Scone, was presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in recognition of his support in the Battle of Bannockburn. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (2032 × 1354 pixel, file size: 662 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) View of the Blarney Stone from the ground, taken by Srleffler in October 2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (2032 × 1354 pixel, file size: 662 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) View of the Blarney Stone from the ground, taken by Srleffler in October 2006. ... The Stone of Scone, (pronounced scoon) also commonly known as the Stone of Destiny or the Coronation Stone (though the former name sometimes refers to Lia Fáil) is a block of sandstone historically kept at the now-ruined abbey in Scone, near Perth, Scotland. ... Robert I, King of Scots, usually known as Robert the Bruce (July 11, 1274 – June 7, 1329, reigned 1306 – 1329), was, according to a modern biographer (Geoffrey Barrow), a great hero who lived in a minor country. ... Combatants Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England Commanders Robert Bruce Edward II Strength about 6,500 20,000 Casualties unknown but light about 9,000 The Battle of Bannockburn (Blàr Allt a Bhonnaich in Gaelic) (June 24, 1314) was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence. ...

The proprietors of Blarney Castle list several alternative explanations for the origins of the Stone and its supposed powers, all of which suppose that the Stone had previously been in Ireland but was then taken to Scotland and returned to Ireland in 1314.^[1] The stories they list include:

• the Stone was the stone that Jacob used as a pillow, and was brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah
• the Stone was the pillow used by St. Columba of Iona on his deathbed
• the Stone was the Stone of Ezel, which David hid behind on Jonathan's advice, while fleeing from King Saul, and may have been brought back to Ireland during the Crusades
• the Stone was the rock that Moses struck with his staff to produce water for the Israelites, during their flight from Egypt
• in Ireland, the Stone was known as the Lia Fáil or "Stone of Destiny", part of the king's throne, with mysterious powers
• the stone's powers were revealed to the McCarthys by a witch who had been saved from drowning

Queen Elizabeth I wanted Irish chiefs to agree to occupy their own lands under title from her. Cormac Teige McCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, handled every Royal request with subtle diplomacy, promising loyalty to the Queen without "giving in". Elizabeth proclaimed that McCarthy was giving her "a lot of Blarney", thus giving rise to the legend. This article is about Jacob in the Hebrew Bible. ... For other uses, see Jeremiah (disambiguation). ... A separate article is titled Columba (constellation). ... Iona is a small island, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. ... This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ... David and Jonathan were heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, whose intimate relationship was recorded favorably in the Old Testament books of Samuel. ... Saul (שאול המלך) (or Shaul) (Hebrew: שָׁאוּל, Standard Tiberian  ; asked for or borrowed) is a figure identified in the Books of Samuel and Quran as having been the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Look up Israelite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Lia Fáil is one of two stones named the Stone of Destiny. ... Elizabeth I Queen of England and Ireland Queen of France, nominal title Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533–March 24, 1603) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from November 17, 1558 until her death. ...

Echoing the power of the stone, an Irish bard of the early nineteenth century, Francis Sylvester Mahony, wrote:

 There is a stone there, That whoever kisses, Oh, he never misses To grow eloquent. 'Tis he may clamber To a lady's chamber, Or become a member Of Parliament. 

link title==Popular culture==

Kissing the Blarney Stone

• Rock Band Ween recorded "The Blarney Stone", released on their 1997 album The Mollusk.

There is a stone that whoever kisses,
Oh! he never misses to grow eloquent
'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber,
Or become a member of parliament.
—Francis Sylvester Mahony Download high resolution version (909x960, 1466 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (909x960, 1466 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Ween is an alternative rock group formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. ... The Mollusk was Weens 6th full length album, released on Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. ... Francis Sylvester Mahony (Father Prout) (1804‑1866), humorist, born at Cork, and educated at the Jesuit College at Clongoweswood, Co. ...

• In the novel Fight Club, the main character talks about young men in Ireland getting drunk and then urinating on the stone as a form of rebellion.

• The Blarney Stone in America: On St. Patrick's Day in 1939 Texas Tech University unveiled that they had discovered a piece of the Blarney Stone. According to the legend the stone was discovered by a group of petroleum engineers while they were on a field trip. After doing tests it was discovered that the stone was a piece of the original Blarney Stone. The stone now lies on a stand in front of the old Electrical Engineering Building. It is said that seniors that kiss the Blarney Stone upon graduation will receive the gift of eloquent speech.

Image:Http://www.ttu.edu/traditions/images/blarneystone.jpg Fight Club[1] (1996) is the first published novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk. ...

References

1. ^ The Blarney Stone. Blarney Castle website. Retrieved on 2006-10-14.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Blarney Castle
• Photos and Description