The New International Encyclopædia/Blarney

BLAR'NEY (Irish blairne, a little field, from Gael. blair, blar, a plain). A village in Ireland, four miles from Cork, having a castle built in 1449, by Cormac McCarthy. Near the castle are the &lsquo;Groves of Blarney,&rsquo; and on the summit of the castle-tower is the Blarney Stone, the kissing of which is said to endow one with the gift of coaxing, wheedling, and flattering. The true stone, however, is one set into a wall, where it

can be kissed only by a person held over the parapet. The name has given a noun, a verb, and a participle to the English language.