| Show FOUNDED BY A MACCARTHY CARTHY blarney castle and the famous stone which imparts persuasive towers rowe r 3 blarney castle was founded bout about a 1450 A D by cormack cormac ic maccarthy surnamed the strong the lord of mus kerty kerry and chief of a younger branch of that great maccarthy family who once ruled all cork and for many years waged a fierce but according to the he t pittsburgh dispatch not always successful contest for its possession with the saxon invader in the struggle the lords of muskerry musketry Mu skerry took an active part and shared both the triumphs arid abid defeats of their illustrious kindred their stronghold of blarney being several times lost and regained by them it was captured by queen elizabeths troops but was restored to its owner maccarthy who was created er e abed viscount muskerry musketry Mu skerry in 1643 1642 the earl of captured and retained it until 1658 when the then lord musketry muskerry Mu Ilu skerry who had been made earl of Clan carty received it back the last earl of Clan carty espoused the cause of the stuarts took up arms in behalf of 0 f james IL II and followed that unhappy prince into exile after his defeat the r sessions being forfeited william of orange granted the estate of blarney to a sir george Jeffe reyes in whose family it still remains As stated previously pr sly the castle was erected in 1450 14 5 0 the date being inscribed upon a stone in the wall of the tower near its summit the stone also bears the nameon name of cormack maccarthy the founder of the fortress this is the stone known to fame as the blarney stone its supposed power of imparting the gift of persuasion and facility of language to any person who shall kiss it has been often described and extolled in prose and poet poetry ry but its origin is not known to a certainty |
