THE LEGEND of stones taken from Blarney Castle apparently bringing bad luck continues with an “unholy” rock freshly returned from the US.
Linda Kelly from South Carolina, posted a rock she bought at a sale in the US back to Blarney after three weeks, saying her tale of woe included loss of work and unexplained depression to the point that she could not leave the house.
Ms Kelly, an estate sales agent who organised the sale of contents from the home of a retired priest, bought the rock at the sale for $1 (70 cents), despite finding the house “creepy” and vowing not to buy anything.
The priest, a former Bishop England school teacher, had lived a “sad life” and had shut himself off from the world, according to Ms Kelly.
“This man’s house was filled with religious items. It was a time capsule of stuff from the early 1900s until the 1970s,” she said.
She bought the rock on impulse to send to her daughter, who is working in Ireland, but once it was in her possession, Ms Kelly said, her luck took a dramatic turn.
“First off, my work dried up for a couple weeks. Then I had a few days where I felt very depressed, for no reason. I felt so low, I couldn’t even leave the house. Totally not like me,” she said.
She then received notice that a bill payment she had posted weeks beforehand had never arrived.
“After that, I scooped up the rock and drove it straight to the post office. I was a little worried to drive with that rock in the car. When I finally passed it over to the postal clerk, I did feel a sense of relief.”
Staff at Blarney Castle confirmed they had received the rock from Ms Kelly.
“It’s all buried in mythology and folklore and that speaks for itself,” said Blarney Castle owner Sir Charles Colthurst.
“If someone takes a piece of stone it’s by their hand. I don’t know if returning the stone makes them feel better – hopefully it does.”