Where did the Blarney Stone come from?

The exact origins of the Blarney Stone are the subject of legend rather than actual historical fact, and there are several different versions of the stone's origin story. Blarney Castle says that some people believe the stone was brought back to Ireland by a Crusader who had been to the Middle East.

Another version of the Blarney Stone mythology holds that the prophet Jeremiah brought the stone to Ireland. Still other versions hold that the builder of Blarney Castle, Cormac McCarthy, brought the stone back from Scotland. The castle seems eager to perpetuate the myth surrounding the stone rather than to identify an actual, factual point of origin.