Colleens and shamrocks
Being the daughter of a true Irish man today holds a special meaning for me, although now-a-days I usually spend this day quitely at home. Sadly my father is no longer alive but I remember many a St. Patrick's Day when my father returned home singing an Irish tune. Along with the songs my father had the 'Gift of the Blarney' for he would try and charm my mother after he had returned home late and in a very merry state..lol...
Speaking of 'the blarney', how many of you have kissed The Blarney Stone? I never have but would love to visit Blarney one day. However, judging by where the Blarney Stone is positioned I will be content with just visiting the castle....To be able to kiss the Blarney Stone itself you would require a very loyal and trustworthy companion, for he would have to hold your ankles while you lean back and downwards to grasp the iron rails, and if you're lucky be able to kiss the stone. Being only 5ft 3in with short legs I doubt even in my younger days I would have been able to achieve this difficult feat..lol..
View of the Blarney Stone from the ground ~ Photograph by Srleffler ~
The Blarney Stone is set within the castle of Blarney village, a few miles from the small City of Cork, Ireland. The castle seen today was built in 1446 after a fire destroyed the original building, which was built two centuries before.... 
Blarney Castle ~ Photograph by Urban Hafner ~
The origin of the stone is shrouded in mystery but legend says that it was a magical stone from the beginning.... There are many explanations for the Stone's origin, many of a biblical nature. It is also said that the Stone was possibly removed from Ireland and taken to Scotland and then returned to Ireland in 1314. The theory behind this statement is that the Stone was originally half of The Stone of Scone and was presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in recognition of his support in The Battle of Bannockburn. McCarthy then installed the Stone in Blarney Castle, where it became known as The Blarney Stone. However, others say that it was the Lia Fail, a magical stone on which the kings of Ireland were crowned....Regardless of the why's and whatfor's, there is no disguising the fact that The Blarney Stone has a magical air about it....
‘’Ti s there’s the stone that whoever kisses
He never misses to grow eloquent;
Tis he may clamber to a lady’s chamber,
Or become a member of Parliament.
A noble spouter he’ll sure turn out, or
An out and outer to be let alone;
Don’t try to hinder him, or to bewilder him,
For he is pilgrim from the Blarney Stone’’
~ Francis Sylvester Mahony ~
The custom of kissing the Blarney Stone also has many theories for why it began and for how long it has been practiced. Why should kissing the stone give you ‘the Gift of the Gab’? One local legend claims that an old woman, saved from drowning by a king of Munster, rewarded him with a spell, that if he would kiss the stone on the castle’s top he would gain a speech that would win all to him....
What is known however is when the word Blarney became part of the English language. It is claimed that on a visit by Queen Elizabeth 1 to Cormac Teige McCarthy, Lord of Blarney, she requested an oath of loyalty to retain occupancy of land. McCarthy apparently responded with ‘subtle diplomacy’ and the Queen proclaimed that he was giving her ‘a lot of blarney’, meaning ‘to placate with soft talk or to deceive without offending’....
The custom of ‘Kissing the Blarney Stone’ is known throughout the world, a stone on a castle’s parapet not that dissimilar to other stones in the area. A stone that is said ‘to endow whoever kisses it with the eternal gift of eloquence’ (solabharthact) – ‘The Gift of the Gab’.
Many of us have never seen the stone and most likely never will, yet we use the expression in our everyday lives and believe in its magic. That can’t be a bad thing in this day and age....
Hope you enjoyed your day, until next time take care...Hugs Chrissy xx
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