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West across the Irish Sea from Great Britain lies Ireland.  Cork is a regional city in the south of Ireland.  Not far from Cork is the famed Blarney Castle.  

Blarney Castle was built in the 15th century, completed around 1446.  It is a formidable, solid castle and still in good shape for the most part. 

The Blarney Stone is made of local Carboniferous limestone which is grey in color.  This limestone is between 325 and 363 million years old.  It is formed of shells and remnants of creatures in a warm, tropical, shallow sea abundant with life.  Ireland itself has a complex geology resulting from active tectonic plate movement, volcanoes and accumulations of the remains of ancient life.       

The history of the Stone is quite creative and conflicts with the origin of its composition.  One version is it was once part of Scottish Stone of Destiny.  Another version is that is was the pillow on the deathbed of St. Columba on the island of Iona in Scotland.  A third account was the Stone was brought by the Prophet Jeremiah on his pilgrimage- that was one heavy backpack.  Last, a relic from the Crusades in the Middle East.  The Blarney Stone has played an important role in history if only as the final resting place of ancient sea life.         

The famed Blarney Stone happens to be located on the very top level of the Castle.  There are no elevators and the rugged, well worn stairway winds its way to the top and then one has to walk around the entire parapet to reach the Stone. 

To actually kiss the stone requires complicated body positioning that I will not explain, but leave you to interpret from the photo at the end of this article.  Once kissed, the gift of Eloquence is granted to the explorer.  Eloquence has a varied meaning from being articulate (my favored end of the spectrum) to the gift of gab (my wife, Robin’s preferred  definition).

Sources:  Blarney Castle and Grounds.com

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