The Story of the Blarney Stone – Ireland VIP Tours

The History, myth and legend of the famous Blarney Stone

Ireland is full of locations which manage to conjure puzzling mystery out outstanding of beauty. No location does this more than at Blarney Castle with the story of the famous Blarney Stone.

This post talks about the history, myth and legend associated with this intriguing piece of limestone. It looks at some of the figures associated with it, how the legend came about and what is fact and what is fiction!

This is part 2 of a two-part piece including our post about St. Patrick and the nearby Rock of Cashel. You’ll get what we mean when we say Ireland is corner-to-corner in beauty, myth and legend. These landmarks are within 60 miles (100 kms) of each other. And they’re just two of the many magical attractions Ireland has to offer.

Read on to learn all about the famous Blarney Stone.

Meet the Stone of Eloquence

You can find the The Blarney Stone (Cloch na Blarnan in Irish) slotted neatly into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Co Cork, just 8 miles from Cork City. This unassuming limestone block is one of our most famous attractions and known all over the world. Visitors in their thousands come from around the globe to visit the magnificent Blarney Castle and the famous stone. Its mythical status, deriving from its famous legend, makes it a must visit attraction on trips to Ireland.

But what is this famous legend, and how did it come to be?

The Blarney Stone and the “Gift of the Gab”

We like to call it the gift of eloquence.

Like the origin of the stone itself, the origin of the “gift of the gab” legend is unclear with a number of variations on how it came about.

The Castle itself is a stone fortification in the form of a tower house which was a typical type of fortification used by medieval Irish Lords. It was built on the site of a previous stone fortification dating back to the 13th century. That was destroyed and Blarney Castle came into being when it was erected by members of the MacCarthy’s of Muskerry dynasty in 1446. It was subsequently inhabited by Cormac “Laidir” MacCarthy (Cormac “strong” MacCarthy) when he became King of Munster.

It’s Cormac’s association with the stone where the story gets interesting.

The Queen of the Fairies

The most compelling version features an encounter between the chieftain, Cormac Laidir and the Banshee and Queen of the Faries, Cliodhna (pronounced Clio-na).

He was facing a serious legal matter to do with the Castle and was unsure how to deal with the problem – and even if he could. He turned to Cliodhna for help.

Cliodhna for her part had been spurned by a lover who was subsequently killed in battle. His body lay in a river, resting on a rock. When Cliodhna found his remains she sat and wept and kissed him endlessly in grief and despair. Her tears, kisses and emotions had passed some of her powers on to the rock.

Cliodnah then appeared to Cormac in a dream. She advised him from the underworld to find this rock and kiss it and he would be bestowed with the gift of clear, convincing, eloquent speech.

He followed her instructions and won the difficult court case, convincing the judge that he was in the right.

Bannockburn and the Stone of Scone

It’s easy to imagine Ireland was filled with wild men and women running around barefoot until the English arrived in force in the 17th century.

Not much can be further from the truth. We had an elaborate system of nobility and lordships; and equally as elaborate alliances and allegiances. One of these was a very strong alliance between Cormac and Robert the Bruce of Scotland.

As part of their entente Cormac supported the Scotsman by providing 5,000 infantrymen for the Battle of Bannockburn with the English King Edward I. In return Robert gave a piece of stone to Cormac which was reputed to have been taken from the Stone of Scone, which was used in the first coronation of a Scottish King in 847.

Another version of that story holds that it was a piece of stone which was taken from the site at Stonehenge, England, and given to the Irish by Robert.

Elizabeth and the Irish “Blarney”

English Queen Elizabeth I tried to gain control of Blarney Castle and the surrounding lands for many years. She wanted to remove Cormac’s land rights altogether.

The Chieftain though, empowered with this wonderful gift of eloquence, was able to talk her out of her attempts to take the land. Hence she referred to his beguiling speech as “Blarney” and the word entered the lexicon forever.

Eastern origins of the Blarney Stone

Even more exotically, some say it was the Stone of Ezel where the Jewish King David hid from Saul! Then, the stone was brought back to Ireland following the English Crusades in the Holy Lands.

Some have even gone as far as to suggest it was the same stone as the one which Moses struck to provide water for the Israelites after they had escaped from Egypt.

While these make fascinating stories, they are likely to be just that – stories.

Still, it’s nice to think.

So what are the real facts about the Blarney Stone?

Assuming all verifiable truth comes from science (maybe), geology can play a role in solving this mystery.

The stone itself is a piece of carved Carboniferous Limestone, approximately 330 million years old. A group of geologists from Glasgow University ran tests on the stone and found that its signature matched that of other limestone created in the same era in the south west of Ireland.

The story of how those tests came about is interesting in itself, and is very much worth a read.

This could lend some weight to the story that the stone was taken to Scotland first from Ireland, then returned to Cormac Laidir by Robert the Bruce.

Beyond that we don’t know, the story of this most storied stone becomes shrouded in unsolvable myth and magic, like so much else on this wonderful green island…

How do I visit the Blarney Stone?

Getting there and seeing the stone and the incredible Blarney Castle is much easier. We will take the trip with you so you can take in Blarney and the stunning Rock of Cashel on our wonderful Blarney Castle and Rock of Cashel Private Chauffeur Tour.

You can attain the gifts of speech in style and comfort, with your own very knowledgeable driver and guide for the day.

Let us know when you’re up for the challenge. We’d love to get you there.

We also run custom private chauffeur tours, if you wish to take one visit the linked page and let us build your best Irish trip ever.