The Lia Fáil (Irish for "big stone of Fál", pronounced roughly "Lee-a Fall", Irish pronunciation: [ˌlʲiːə ˈfɔːlʲ]), also known as the Stone of Destiny, is a stone at the Inauguration Mound (Irish: an Forrad) on the Hill of Tara in County Meath in Ireland, which served as the coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland. In legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach mac Ercae c. AD 500.
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Mythical origin
In Celtic mythology, the Lia Fáil is said to have been brought to Ireland in antiquity by the semi-divine race known as the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Tuatha Dé Danann had travelled to the "Northern Isles" (Geoffrey Keating identifies this with Norway) where they learned many skills and magic in its four cities Fálias, Gorias, Murias and Findias. From there they proceeded to the north of Scotland, bringing with them a treasure from each city - the four legendary treasures of Ireland. From Fáilias came Lia Fáil "the Stone of Fál"; also called the Stone of Destiny (Latin: Saxum fatale). The other three treasures are the Claíomh Solais, the Spear of Lugh and The Dagda’s Cauldron.
Mythical powers
The Lia Fáil was thought to be magical: when the rightful High King of Ireland put his feet on it, the stone was said to roar in joy. The stone is also credited with the power to rejuvenate the king and also to endow him with a long reign. Cúchulainn split it with his sword when it failed to cry out under his protegé, Lugaid Riab nDerg, and from then on it never roared again, except under Conn of the Hundred Battles and Brian Boru.
Inis Fáil
It is from this stone that the Dé Danann metonymically named Ireland Inis Fáil (inis meaning island), and from this 'Fál' became an ancient name for Ireland. In this respect, therefore, Lia Fáil came to mean 'Stone of Ireland'. Inisfail appears as a synonym for Erin in some Irish romantic and nationalist poetry in English in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Aubrey Thomas de Vere's 1863 poem Inisfail is an example.
Fianna Fáil ("the Fianna, warriors, or army of Ireland"; sometimes rendered "the soldiers of destiny") has been used as a sobriquet for the Irish Volunteers; on the cap badge of the Irish Army; in the opening line of the Irish-language version of the Irish national anthem; and as the name of the Fianna Fáil political party, the largest in the Republic of Ireland.[1]
See also
- Stone of Scone the "Stone of Destiny" for coronation of Scottish, English, and British monarchs.
- Stones of Mora where the Swedish kings were elected.
- Prince's Stone where the princes of Carantania and dukes of Carinthia were installed.
- Sword in the stone (King Arthur) also revealed the rightful king.
- Blarney Stone tourist attraction said to endow those kissing it with the "gift of the gab".
- De Shíl Chonairi Móir
References
- ^ Lord Longford; Thomas P. O’Neill (1970). Éamon de Valera. Dublin. chapter 21. ISBN 978-0-09-104660-6.
Further reading
- Campbell, Ewan. "Royal Inauguration in Dál Riata and the Stone of Destiny." In The Stone of Destiny: artefact and icon, ed. Richard Welander et al. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Monograph series 22. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2003. 43-59.
- FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100-1600. Woodbridge, 2004.
- Nitze, William A. "The Siege Perilleux and the Lia Fáil or 'Stone of Destiny'." Speculum 31 (1956): 258 ff.
- Ó Broin, Tomás. "Lia Fáil: fact and fiction in tradition." Celtica 21 (1990): 393-401.
External links
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