“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill.
Despite criticism in recent years of the above quote, being sexist which encourages misogyny, it can’t be refused that Winston Churchill was a master when it came to weaving words. You may love him or may not agree with his policies, but very few statesmen shared his verbal abilities.
So, what gave him this eloquence? Was it his family background & upbringing, or his political experience, or his not-so-natural act of kissing an enigmatic stone in Ireland (In 1912, when he was First Lord of Admiralty)? It may be because of all of the above but this article is about the last one of the stated factors – associated with Blarney Stone present in Blarney Castle, Ireland.
The word – “Blarney”, in simple terms can be described as a tactful & pleasant way of speaking to people, that would persuade the listener to do things, that they wouldn’t have done otherwise. In other words – the word “Blarney” is used to convey the feelings of skillful flattery but with facts that may be outright false.
The word crept into the dictionary & became popular after Queen Elizabeth I of England, used it in frustration, describing the persuasive speeches made by the Lord of Blarney Castle in Ireland – Cormac Teige McCarthy; who used his oratory skills to fail the machinations of the queen to take over his castle.
With time as the word “Blarney” became part of everyday speech, the popularity of Blarney Castle in Ireland also increased. It seems that “the gift of the gab” that owners of this castle were known for, was not just reserved for the Lords only, but the common people could also get the benefit of this blessing, if they kissed a stone, shrouded in mystery & legends, present in the Castle – the Blarney Stone.
8 kilometers northwest of the city of Cork (in Ireland) lies the town of Blarney. The town is the site of the now-famous Blarney Castle, where the enigmatic Blarney Stone is present. The current Blarney castle, which is present on the site is believed to be the third one in the area. The previous two being - A wooden structure built in the 10th century; which was replaced in 1210 AD by a stone structure and the 2nd structure would later make way for the 3rd & current castle in 1446 AD, which was built by Cormac Laidir McCarthy.
The Blarney Castle grounds are spread over 60 acres and are a beautiful sight to the eyes. Besides the castle, there are gardens to explore, a serene lake & a lot of other beautiful sights around. The venue is one of Ireland’s best-known tourist destinations for good reasons.
The famous Blarney Stone – which supposedly bestows brilliant oratory skills to people who kiss it, is set in a wall below the battlements of Blarney Castle. Being an integral part of the structure-forming machicolations of the castle, Blarney Stone kiss was not an easy endeavor in old times. Here it would be prudent to mention that machicolation is a floor opening present between supporting structures that stuck out from the castle wall & may have been used in a bygone era to drop boiling water/oil or stone on invading army.
The facts surrounding Blarney Stone history should be more correctly described as Blarney Stone legend, that have become inseparable from real history, in course of time. Some may also choose to describe the Blarney Stone legend as purely “Blarney”, as many facts described as part of this story look straight out of the realm of pure fiction. Anyway, these stories certainly form an interesting read and some of them are certainly worth mentioning.
The story which is most closely associated with Blarney Stone history and describes how the stone reached Blarney Castle is closely linked to the Irish chieftain, who constructed the Blarney Castle. Cormac Laidir McCarthy once found himself entangled in a messy lawsuit somewhere during the 15th century. Fearful of losing he prayed to goddess Cliodhna, for help.
Goddess Cliodhna appeared in Cormac Laidir McCarthy’s dream and advised him to kiss the first stone that he found on his way to court. The Irish Lord followed the instructions and finally argued his case with so much eloquence, that he won the case. Impressed beyond measure, McCarthy then brought this magic stone back with him and incorporated the stone into the wall below the battlement of the Blarney Castle, and the Blarney Stone Legend was born.
Besides being associated with a goddess, Blarney Stone legend is also associated with one of the greatest heroes of Scotland – Robert the Bruce. As the story goes, Cormac McCarthy sent 5000 of his men to help Robert the Bruce, defeat the British at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Robert the Bruce was so moved by this magnanimous gesture of Cormac McCarthy that he gifted a piece of Stone of Scone to the latter. This stone would later become famous as Blarney Stone when it was installed at the Blarney Castle Ireland. As impressive as this story appears to be, this story suffers from a serious discrepancy as far as the dates for events of the story are concerned. Besides, it has also been proved by geologists that Blarney Stone of Ireland, is most likely of local origin.
Of all the stories associated with Blarney Stone history, it is perhaps this one, which appears most believable. As the story goes Queen Elizabeth I wanted to take away the Blarney Castle from Cormac Teige McCarthy and entrusted the Earl of Leicester for the job. However, McCarthy had no intention of parting with his prized castle and he came up with many excuses & other tactful methods like making eloquent speeches to delay the takeover of his castle.
According to some, McCarthy’s oratory gifts was because of kissing the Blarney Stone in Blarney’s Castle, on the insistence of an old woman who had predicted that anyone kissing the stone would get the ability to speak fluently & convincingly, so much so that any person listening to the speech would be influenced by it.
The castle finally never went out of McCarthy’s control and the entire matter became a joke at the court. It was around this point that the Queen used the word “Blarney” to describe the Earl’s futile efforts which were foiled by McCarthy by his brilliant excuses & tactful dialogue. And like this, the word Blarney became a part of the language.
Besides the above-mentioned popular stories associated with the enigmatic past of Blarney Stone, there are many other legends too, especially of religious nature. Some say that the Blarney Stone was once Biblical Jacob’s pillow & later was brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah. A few also believe that this is the stone that Moses struck to get water from when Israelites were fleeing Egypt. Some others maintain that Blarney Stone may have been used as a deathbed pillow by St. Columba, on the island of Iona.
Needless to say, that all the legends mentioned above with many others are almost impossible to prove, however, the oral transfer of these stories from one generation to another has ensured that the Blarney Stone has become not just a part of Irish culture only, but people from all parts of the world come to Blarney Castle to see & appreciate the ancient wonder.
How to Kiss the Blarney Stone is perhaps the most common question that people visiting the Blarney Castle for the first time ask. It is almost 200 years that people – famous and the not so famous ones, flock from all over the world to Ireland for the Blarney Stone kiss. A successful experience would bestow the visitor with the gift of the gab, that the Blarney Stone is famous for.
For a small fee, a visitor can enter the castle & get himself photographed kissing the stone and become a part of the Blarney Stone legend. To kiss the stone a person has to reach the top of the castle, by climbing a steep spiral staircase. Many steps later, on reaching the rooftop, one can catch a spectacular view of the beautiful scenery all around.
As mentioned previously the Blarney stone itself is set in a wall of Blarney Castle, below the battlements. In old times, visitors to the castle had to be held by the ankles and lowered down (head first) through the floor opening for the Blarney Stone kiss. Needless to say, this was a risky endeavor but still many risked this for the gift of a silver tongue.
In more recent times, the installation of protective crossbars & iron railing has helped the visitors be safer as they lie on their back & lean backward from parapet walk and kiss the stone (by holding onto the guide rails for safety); besides assistants are always present to help the visitors achieve their goal.
As is obvious the more modern method of Blarney stone kiss is much safer & convenient, compared to the more complicated acrobatic skills required previously, but it is still a daunting experience for those who suffer from a phobia of heights.
So, what happens when you kiss the Blarney Stone? As mentioned earlier, according to legends & popular belief, the person kissing the limestone would be gifted with elegant and persuasive speech. But would that be the only thing that one would get? Unfortunately, in a world, where people are skeptical about most things around them, few questions are bound to arise.
The modern world has come up with its own set of problems for the Blarney Stone kiss. Safety measures are taken much more seriously in the modern era than before and people who want to kiss Blarney Stone, which is present around 85 feet high up from the ground, on a wall below the castle battlements, do have a valid reason to worry.
Safety measures present now are much better, than what was in the olden days. Visitors leaning backward and holding onto the iron railings while assisted & supervised by an assistant present in the area, have done a lot to decrease the fear associated with the Blarney Stone kiss.
With multiple people visiting the site, about whom very little or absolutely nothing is known, questions have been raised about the hygiene & sanitation status regarding the Blarney Stone. To answer these concerns, any Blarney Stone kiss is preceded by wiping off the area with an antimicrobial wipe. The same is done with the adjacent railing & ropes too. This hopefully is expected to calm down those, who are skeptical about the whole endeavor, especially regarding the hygiene involved.
The COVID 19 Pandemic is perhaps the latest challenge that put the age-old practice of Blarney Stone kiss on hold for some time. Blarney Stone covid challenges & concerns about health safety & social distancing requirements had made this necessary. However, once people started to return to their daily life, the desire to kiss Blarney Stone was once again back on their agenda.
The authorities managing the affairs of the Blarney Castle also put many health and safety measures in place; so that people visiting the castle would feel safer. Besides being extra careful with the spray of disinfectant on the Blarney Stone; the assistant holding the visitors (while they are kissing the stone) also wears protective face shields and gloves. With the precautions in place, the ancient practice of Blarney Stone kiss has once again started.
Most people want to look good and have the ability to speak smoothly to convince other people. The regular approach for the former is by various Plastic Surgery methods or other Beauty treatments, available nowadays. The latter can be acquired by learning communication skills from experts, who are masters in their field. However, in an era gone by, a method surrounded by legends arose for the latter desire - the Blarney Stone kiss.
A castle is made to protect the inmates from being attacked by hostile forces coming from outside and the same hold true for Blarney Castle. Even in modern times, Blarney Castle in Ireland still sees hordes of people flocking to it, albeit with more benign interest in mind. Innumerable people from all walks of life have come to see Blarney Stone in Ireland over the years with the agenda to kiss Blarney Stone and improve their communication skills.
Does the Blarney Stone kiss work? Or the whole story was just pure “Blarney” as some have claimed. To find out for sure, as what happens when you kiss the Blarney stone, maybe you should visit Blarney Castle, Ireland, and check things for yourself. You wouldn’t regret your decision of asking yourself - why kiss Blarney Stone? You may or may not get the gift of the gab, but you certainly will go back with a memory of a bygone era with magical things, which would last a lifetime.