After years of preparation, The Savannah Blarney Stone will make its formal debut during an unveiling ceremony Friday, March 15, 10AM at Rousakis Plaza (north of Bay and Drayton Streets, near the anchor) on River Street. After the unveiling, The Savannah Blarney Stone (“The Stone”) will be open for business, so to speak, as a combination photo setting and fundraiser from Friday, March 15 through Monday, March 18, 10AM until midnight. The goal is for people to pay a small fee to have their picture made ‘kissing’ the stone.  All proceeds raised by The Stone will go to support local charities.

Savannah’s community of Irish descendants and all lovers of green on St. Patrick’s Day will be delighted to see The Stone on River Street this year.  The Waterfront Association, managed by Victoria Smith, has welcomed the Stone with great hopes to raise both funds and awareness for our local charities. “We are proud and honored to sponsor the Savannah Blarney Stone on the waterfront during St. Patrick's and help raise funds for our local charities,” said Victoria Smith, Executive Director of the Savannah Waterfront Association.   

Some may wonder how a Blarney Stone ended up in Savannah, how this stone is helping local charities and why it took so long to get here. It all starts with Dr. Sidney Smith, innovative, creative and community focused, who, supported by his equally creative wife Colleen, had the vision to create a sustainable source of funding for Savannah Charities almost 10 years ago. 

"The Savannah Blarney Stone concept has been years in the making. Without the participation and dedication from many of our local citizens, this opportunity would not be possible. The inspiration for The Savannah Blarney Stone was our desire and commitment to give back to the Savannah community and her non-profit charitable organizations" (Sidney Smith)

"We are pleased to host the Savannah Blarney Stone Pavilion at Cohen's Retreat as an interactive symbol of our mission for community service”, (Colleen Smith)

Dr. Smith purchased the stone from the Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland in 2014.  The stone was then shipped and delivered to his wife’s place of business, Cohen’s Retreat.  Mrs. Smith noted that “It might have been a better idea if I had known it was coming!” She recalled hearing, ‘beep, beep, beep’ as a truck backed into the driveway and then dropped the 500-pound stone. 

For the inaugural fundraiser, The Stone has 10 very diverse charities that will receive funding. A committee chose the 2019 Blarney Stone fundraiser recipients. The selected charities are Fresh Air Home, Girls on the Run, Heads Up Guidance, Deep Center, Ossabaw Island Foundation, 100 Black Men, Tybee Island Marine Science Center, Employability, Alee Temple (Shriners Hospital), and Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse.

2019 mark the beginning of an exciting chapter for The Savannah Blarney Stone!  The Savannah Blarney Stone will make history by engaging tourist and local citizens as community stakeholders.  On the anniversary of their photo they will receive an update on what our charities have been able to accomplish.