Kiss the stone for the gift of the Gab

Blarney Castle was built by Cormac MacCarthy, the King of Munster around 1450. It is currently a partial ruin but there is access to some rooms and its rooftop battlements where the famous Blarney Stone can be found. There are many legends as to the origin of the stone. Some say it was the Lia Fáil, Jacob’s pillow (famous from the Bible!), St. Columba of Iona’s deathbed pillow!, the rock that Moses struck with his staff to produce water for the Israelites, or possibly the original Stone of Scone, which was said to have been presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in recognition of his support in the Battle of Bannockburn. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). Blarney Castle is now a popular and impressive tourist site with beautiful gardens, natural rock formations, and Blarney House, a Scottish baronial-style mansion.