Irish stone of eloquence may be just Blarney

By Andras Gergely

DUBLIN (Reuters Life!) - The millions who have made the pilgrimage to Blarney Castle in southern Ireland to kiss its "stone of eloquence" have put their lips on the wrong stone, according to a new book on the medieval fortress.

The term "Blarney talk" is thought to stem from Queen Elizabeth I who lost patience with the insolent excuses of a chieftain who refused to hand the castle to English forces and said: "Blarney, Blarney, I will hear no more of this Blarney!"

Anyone can try to gain Chieftain Cormac MacDermot Mor MacCarthy's gift for persuasive speech by climbing up to the battlements of one of Ireland's top tourist attractions, bending backwards over a long drop and kissing the "Blarney Stone".

But archaeologist Mark Samuel, co-author of a new book on the castle, says the stone which attracts 400,000 visitors a year cannot be "The" Blarney stone.

"The first mention of the stone in its current position is from 1888," Samuel told Reuters, adding that earlier sources referred to it being elsewhere in the castle.

"Blarney Castle: Its History, Development and Purpose" describes possible locations for the original stone, which according to one myth was known as "Jacob's Pillow" and brought back by crusaders from the Holy Land.

Another tradition holds that it is part of the Stone of Scone on which Scottish monarchs are crowned and was a gift from the 14th century King of Scots, Robert the Bruce.

Samuel and co-author Kate Hamlyn say the original stone may have been confused with a date stone marking the building of the third castle on the site in 1446.