Kiss the Blarney Stone!

Hello, a lot of you may have heard that the Irish have the gift of the gab! Well did you know that in Blarney Castle which is located approx. 5 km from Cork you can KISS a famous stone which will give you just that! Blarney castle and gardens sit near the banks of the River Martin and have done since the castle was first built in 1446.

The castle and fortifications still standing today were erected by the McCarthy’s, Lords of Muscry. Since then it has seen countless wars, many different owners and more importantly, in this case, millions of hopeful Blarney Stone kissers!

The stone itself is a piece of carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of the Castle and upon kissing the stone it is said to give the kisser the gift of eloquence and persuasiveness.

The word “blarney,” meaning skilful flattery or nonsense, supposedly came into use following an incident involving the head of the McCarthy family and Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603. The queen sent the earl of Leicester to seize Blarney Castle, but the talkative McCarthy managed to keep stalling him. He sounds like the kind of guy I would love to meet!

The queen grew exasperated by the earl’s reports about the lack of progress in the matter and uttered something to the effect that the reports were all “Blarney.”!

It is not as straight forward as you might think to kiss the Blarney Stone. You must go to the top of the castle, which is 27 meters high, lie down and lean over the parapets edge backwards! Thankfully, there are trained staff beside you and metal guards below to ensure you won’t plummet to your death!

These safety measures have not always been in place and yet people felt it was worth the risk! I am not so sure …but maybe!

Now I cannot promise that our Connemara Marble will give you the “gift of the gab”, but I can promise a genuine piece of Ireland, handmade from our workshop.

#kisstheblarneystone

 #connemaramarblejewelry

If you would like to stay up to date on all our latest offers please visit us at our Instagram page by clicking here.