Show FAMOUS OLD BLARNEY historic spot long famed in song and story la in one of the glories of ireland THE year 1446 an irish bishop 1 IN his face scarred with many wounds imbed climbed c to the keep or of hta his castle and hanging over the side kissed a stone in the wall about five be feet from the top this was cormack maccar thy and the castle was flaa blarney castle his bla military stronghold for in those days a bishop had find to be a good tighter fighter besides being a good churchman the stone that maccarthy kissed Is now called the blarney stone cormack maccarthy built castle blarney in county cork one day a little while after he had finished it lie ho was walking along when lie he happened to see an old woman drowning in a stream being both a courteous and a brave man lie immediately plunged in and after many struggles rescued her the old woman blessed her rescuer and promised that for a reward she would bestow upon him a tongue of such eloquence that he could influence friends and enemies but there was only one way to obtain this gift ile he must climb to the top of his castle and kiss a stone in the wall there maccarthy followed 4 1 A y aa V I 1 S A 4 blarney castle directions and immediately obtained bich eloquence that he delayed for a long time by persuasion and promise the surrender of the castle to the lord president it Is said that even to this day whoever climbs to tho the top pf af the castle and kisses tile the stone will receive tile tho gift of golden speech many people now go to kiss tile the blarney stone one time a young american visited castle alarney Dl arney and was very enthusiastic about kissing the stone ile he leaned over the square opening but just juat then he got a look at the ground feet below lie ile suddenly decided that this business of kissing the blarney stone was only a silly superstition and was not worth the trouble anyway one of the legends that cling about he ruins of blarney is that in the pastures near the castle ghostly cattle fight at night with the present possessors ot of the fields it Is also reported that in the summer fairies dance on the grass all night castle blarneys Blar tame fame has bocen increased by richard Mile ikins song the groves of blarney written in 1798 francis S mahoney Ma lioney known as father arout added the following lines which have carried the legend ot of the blarney stone around tho the world there Is a stone there that whoever kisses oil oh lie never neer misses to grow gro w eloquent e TIB ITIs lie may clamber to a ladys cli chamber amber or become a member or of kwet nwe l parliament A clever hell sure turn out or an out and outer to be ba let alone dont hope to lo hinder him or to bewilder jilin him sure lies hes a pilgrim from iram the alarney stone |