Kissing the Blarney Stone

One of the many world famous sites that I will get to learn about and visit is the Blarney stone. Our delegation will be learning about the legend and tradition that is the Blarney stone during our stay in southern Ireland.

 

  The Blarney stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney castle. According to legend if a person kisses the Blarney stone the stone bestows the gift of Gab onto the kisser. This gives the kisser the ability to speak with great eloquence or skill at flattery. The ritual has been preformed by millions of people. But to perform the ritual is no small feat. One must get to the peak of Blarney castle then they must lean over backwards, on the edge of the castle the height of which is high enough to cause attacks of acrophobia, and only then can they kiss the blarney stone.

  The origin of the Blarney stone is somewhat unknown; no one is exactly sure how it came to be. Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, the man whose family ruled Blarney Castle, was involved in a lawsuit. So he appealed to Clíodhna (queen of the Banshees of the Tuatha De Danann and is the goddess of beauty and love and one of the major gods of the country) who told him to kiss the first stone he found in the morning on his way to court. He did so and then went off to plead his case. He was able to plead his case and he spoke with the same great eloquence the Blarney stone is said to provide and he won his case.