The Blarney Stone is located at Blarney Castle, which can be found five miles from the city of Cork. Originally constructed of wood in the tenth century, this castle was later replaced by a stone structure in 1210 A.D., which served to fortify the position of Blarney Castle. Although the history of Blarney Castle is well documented, the origin of the Blarney Stone is still a mystery. Despite this, millions of people travel to Ireland each year to kiss the Blarney Stone and receive the gift of oratory. This legendary stone is said to be able to communicate with people if they bend over backward and kiss it.

However, before kissing the Blarney Stone (and kissing the Blarney Stone backwards), here are fifteen things that visitors should know about it. It is one of the top things to do in Ireland.

UPDATE: 2023/05/02 16:03 EST BY AARON SPRAY

More On Why People Kiss the Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone just might be the most famous hunk of limestone in Ireland. It is famous for people coming from far and wide to kiss the stone while leaning backward. The stone is shrouded in mystery and legend, but there are still plenty of things that are known about the Blarney Stone. This list was expanded with even more things everyone should know before kissing the Blarney Stone.

15 Visitors Can Buy Admission Tickets Online Or Walk-In

Blarney House at Castle gardens - Co. Cork
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Blarney House at Castle gardens - Co. Cork 

The hours of operation at the Blarney Stone vary depending on the time of year, with summer hours being longer than winter hours. Tickets are currently available for purchase for €16 for adults, €7 for children aged 8-16, and €13 for students and seniors. The admission ticket is not just for the Blarney stone alone, as visitors will be able to explore the whole castle along with the castle’s garden, the dungeon, the witch stone, wishing steps, the witch’s kitchen, and even the badger’s cave.

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14 The Blarney Stone Is Literally In Blarney Castle

Kissing the Blarney Stone, Ireland
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Kissing the Blarney Stone, Ireland

The Blarney Stone can be found in the Blarney Castle and Estate, which is located in Blarney Village. The village is approximately 8 kilometers northwest of the city of Cork. To get to Limerick from Cork Airport, tourists can follow the signs to the city center and then to the county seat. It takes approximately three to four hours to travel from Dublin to Blarney by car. There are also public transportation buses, and trains from Dublin to Cork run regularly, as well.

13 The Blarney Stone Is Always Clean

View of the historic Blarney Castle
chrisdorney / Shutterstock
View of the historic Blarney Castle

To ensure that the castle remains sanitary, different processes were put in place since it reopened in 2020. On-site Staff cleans the stone with a cleanser approved by the World Health Organization, which kills 99.9% of germs and viruses and is entirely safe to use close to people. Regular cleaning is performed on all the railings, ropes, and other accessories, as well as the mat on which the visitors lie and the bars that hold them while kissing the stone.

12 The Origin Of The Blarney Castle And Where Blarney Stone Was Built

Blarney Castle in the middle of a blooming park
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Blarney Castle in the middle of a blooming park

The first Blarney Castle was a timber fortification built in the 10th century that was dedicated to Saint Blarney. It has since been remade out of stone. It was constructed by Cormac McCarthy, the King of Munster, in 1446. On Blarney Stone's origin and history, numerous theories have been discredited. Among these is the tradition that the Blarney Stone is half of the Stone of Scone, which was handed to Cormac McCarthy. However, the real reason why this stone exists in the castle is still unknown.

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11 The Origin of the Blarney Stone's Powers

Woman trying to kissing the Blarney stone
Geoffrey B. Johnson_Media / Shutterstock
Woman trying to kissing the Blarney stone

The story of the stone's ability to gift eloquence tells about how a witch was the one to gift the stone its powers. As a way to thank the king who had saved the witch from drowning, the witch cast a spell on the stone and then instructed the king to kiss the stone. The stone gifted the kings, and all who have kissed the stone since, with "The Gift of Eloquence" which allows the charisma to king much success in life.

10 The Reason Behind Why People Kiss The Blarney Stone

Parkes Castle in County Leitrim, Ireland
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Parkes Castle in County Leitrim, Ireland

According to legend, people who kiss the Blarney Stone are said to be able to speak eloquently and persuasively. While the Blarney Stone folklore is riddled with inconsistencies, it is said that when Cormac McCarthy was summoned to court to defend himself, the goddess of wisdom ordered him to kiss the first stone he came across – and he did so with great success. McCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, had his land rights taken away by Queen Elizabeth I. She dubbed it "Blarney" and allowed him to keep his land because he could talk so eloquently. So eloquence is said to be the reason why people kiss the Blarney Stone.

9 There Is A Need To Hang Upside Down To Kiss The Blarney Stone

Kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle
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 Kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle

Some people believe that if something is simple, it is not worth the effort. The Blarney Stone, which is lodged in the castle wall below the battlements, is a popular tourist attraction. People were formerly taken over to the stone and kissed while their ankles were tied together, as was customary in those days. Today's practice of visitors kissing the stone is a result of today's more health and safety-conscious society, which encourages them to lean back and grip the iron rails to kiss it. So people kiss the Blarney Stone backwards because its more difficult and therefore worth the effort.

8 Kissing The Blarney Stone Has Been A Tradition For Its Locals And Visitors

Church buildings on the Rock of Cashel, Ireland
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Church buildings on the Rock of Cashel, Ireland

Ireland's centuries-old tradition of kissing the Blarney Stone is said to bestow on the person who does so the abilities of eloquence and persuasiveness. The northern castle wall contains the Blarney Stone, which is the most famous piece of Irish folklore in the world. Blarney Castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, the King of Munster. The Blarney Stone's origins are shrouded in mystery and legend, and no one knows precisely where it actually came from. However, some theories are rather intriguing.

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7 Winston Churchill Had Kissed The Stone

Statue of Churchill In London

It was known that the Lord Mayor, the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, and the Chairman of the Cork Harbour Commission followed Churchill as he drove to Blarney Castle. At the top of the tower, they climbed over the 125 hard steps to the top of the hundred-foot-high structure. He then kissed the infamous stone, just like everybody else, when he got there. People believe that because he kissed the Blarney Stone, he possessed the gift of the gab that helped him achieve his goals.

6 Visit The Castle When Off-Season To Make Sure There Are No Big Crowds And Long Lines

People lined up to kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle
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People lined up to kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle

January and February are excellent times to visit the castle, as not many people visit during those months. Visitors are also recommended to travel to the Stone during the summer, however, many others will also be doing so. Aside from that, it is possible to visit Blarney Castle in Cork during the off-season. Then, travelers can count on there not having much of a crowd. Tourists can enjoy a clean and tranquil environment in which to explore the trails and experience the charm and mystery of the ancient fortress.

5 There Is So Much To See In Blarney Castle

Tipperary
Photo by Paul Imanuelsen on Unsplash
A hike through Tipperary, Ireland

Blarney Castle is very popular among tourists in Ireland, as it has many places within its vicinity where visitors can go and explore. Besides the Blarney Stone that many have kissed, visitors can also visit the poison garden. Their garden is a place full of poisonous medicinal herbs. They can also see the so-called witches’ stones or the woodland walks. Aside from those places, the dungeon is also one of the places where people flock, especially people that are into mysteries and horror. It is said that there are ghosts here in Blarney Castle – specifically in the dungeon.

4 Blarney Village Is One Of The Last Estate Villages In Ireland

Waterford Estate in Waterford, southern Ireland
Photo by Lynnette Greenslade on Unsplash
Waterford Southern Ireland

Built by an eighteenth-century landlord, the village of Blarney near the stone is unique for its special status as an estate village. The estate village is for those who maintain Blarney to live. This situation with the castle workers living so close is one that is becoming more and more unique.

3 The Blarney Stone Comes From Ireland (Surprise)

Stonehenge at sunset in England
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Stonehenge at sunset in England

While it may not be surprising for the uninitiated that the Blarney stone comes from Ireland, there are plenty of tales that it comes from across the seas. There are legends that the stone comes from Scotland, or that it's from England's Stonehenge, or that the Crusaders brought the stone to Ireland. But it was determined in 2014 by some geologists from the University of Glasgow that the famous rock is from Ireland - the south of Ireland to be exact (there is some talk about it coming from Scotland or being taken to Scotland and then returned to Ireland). Go to Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway and see where Ireland and Scotland were once linked according to local legends.

2 The Blarney Kissing Stone Is Old

Dinosaur fossil preserved in a rock

The Blarney Kissing Stone is old - really old. It was formed as limestone around 330 million years ago. 330 million years ago was during the Carboniferous Period long before the arrival of the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs didn't arrive on the scene until the Triassic period which began around 250 million years ago.

1 It Is Claimed To Be The Synonymy Of "Blarney" With "Empty Flattery"

Jamestown Virginia

It is said that the word "blarney" - which means skillful flattery or nonsense" came from an unusual incident that involved the head of the McCarthy family and Queen Elizabeth I (Queen Elizabeth ruled England and Ireland between 1558 and 1603 - for reference, Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America was established in 1607). The backstory was that the queen sent an emissary to seize Blarney Castle, but McCarthy managed to keep stalling the emissary. The queen eventually got exasperated by the lack of progress in her emissary's reports and said something to the effect that his reports were nothing but "Blarney."

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