I was helping my daughter to some research for a project about Ireland. She wanted something special about Ireland - something like an unusual landscape, such as a waterfall, etc. While looking around for an idea, I thought of the Blarney Stone.

To remind you, the Blarney Stone is a stone block set in the Blarney Castle in Ireland. Legend has it that the Blarney Stone has special powers and someone who kisses the Stone will be endowed with special powers of gab and flattery.

That sounded interesting, so I began to look for details of the Blarney Stone. It turns out that there is even a Jewish connection, maybe.

The big question is where the Blarney Stone came from and how it got these powers.

The proprietors of the Blarney Castle have publicized a number of possible sources according to the local legend.

Some of those sources are (not all - some sources have nothing to do with Judaism, so I am not mentioning them):

1. The Blarney Stone was originally the stone that Yaakov put under his head to sleep upon and had the dream of the ladder with the angels... the stone, according to the legend, was later brought to Ireland by Jeremiah the Prophet (he spent time in Ireland?)
2. The Blarney Stone was originally the stone that Moshe struck with his staff in the desert to bring forth water for the Jews to drink on their trip to Israel. (how did it get to Ireland?)
3. the Blarney Stone was the Stone of Ezel behind which David hid upon the advice of Yehonatan when he was running away from King Saul. According to this legend, the stone would have been brought back to Ireland during the Crusades. (how did they know which stone in Israel to bring to Ireland?)..

There you have it. The Jewish background of the Blarney Stone. You learn something new every day!