Lia Fáil
Encyclopedia
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
in County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, which served as the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
stone for the High Kings of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
. In legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach mac Ercae c. AD 500.
Mythical origin
In Celtic mythologyCeltic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
, the Lia Fáil is said to have been brought to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in antiquity by the semi-divine race known as the Tuatha Dé Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....
. The Tuatha Dé Danann had travelled to the "Northern Isles" where they learned many skills and magic in its four cities Fálias, Gorias, Murias and Findias. From there they traveled to Ireland bringing with them a treasure from each city - the four legendary treasures
Four Treasures
In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, the four treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann are four magical items which the mythological Tuatha Dé Danann are supposed to have brought with them from the four island cities Murias, Falias, Gorias and Findias, when they arrived in...
of Ireland. From Fáilias came the Lia Fáil "the Stone of Fál"; also called the Stone of Destiny . The other three treasures are the Claíomh Solais or Sword of Victory, the Sleá Bua or Spear of Lugh
Spear of Lugh
In the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature, the Lúin of Celtchar is the name of a long, fiery lance or spear belonging to Celtchar mac Uthechar and wielded by other heroes, such as Dubthach, Mac Cécht and Fedlimid....
and the Coire Dagdae or The Dagda’s Cauldron.
Lia Fáil vs Stone of Scone
Some historians such as John of FordunJohn of Fordun
John of Fordun was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th century; and it is probable that he was a chaplain in the St Machar's Cathedral of...
and Hector Boece
Hector Boece
Hector Boece , known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen.-Biography:He was born in Dundee where he attended school...
from the thirteenth century, treat the Lia Fáil the same as the Stone of Scone
Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
in Scotland.
The stone on the Hill of Tara (pictured here) is wrongly named the Lia Fáil. 'Lia Fáil' does not translate as 'big stone'. It is the Gaelic for 'Stone of Destiny'. The Lia Fáil left Tara in AD 500 when the High King of Ireland Murtagh MacErc loaned it to his brother Fergus (later known as Fergus the Great) for the latter's coronation in Scotland. Fergus's sub-kingdom, Dalriada
Dalriada
Dalriada can refer to:* Dál Riata, a Gaelic kingdom in western Scotland and north-east Ireland in the Early Middle Ages* Dalriada School, a co-educational, voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland* Dalriada , Hungarian folk metal band...
, had by this time expanded to include the north-east part of Ulster and parts of western Scotland. Not long after Fergus's coronation in Scotland, he and his inner circle were caught in a freak storm off the County Antrim coast in which all perished. The stone remained in Scotland which is why Murtagh MacErc is recorded in history as the last Irish King to be crowned on it.
Mythical powers
The Lia Fáil was thought to be magicalMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
: when the rightful High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
put his feet on it, the stone was said to roar in joy. The stone is also credited with the power to rejuvenate
Rejuvenation (aging)
Rejuvenation is the hypothetical reversal of the aging process.Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes in order to slow aging...
the king and also to endow him with a long reign. Cúchulainn
Cúchulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
split it with his sword when it failed to cry out under his protégé, Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg or Réoderg , son of the three findemna, triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.-Conception:...
, and from then on it never roared again, except under Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn Cétchathach , son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and...
and Brian Boru
Brian Boru
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...
.
Inis Fáil
It is from this stone that the Tuatha Dé Danann metonymicallyMetonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
named Ireland Inis Fáil (inis meaning island), and from this 'Fál' became an ancient name for Ireland. Fál in Irish Gaelic means hedge or enclosure. In this respect, therefore, Lia Fáil came to mean 'Stone of Ireland'. Inisfail appears as a synonym for Erin
Erin
Erin is a Hiberno-English derivative of the Irish word "Éirinn". ....
in some Irish romantic and nationalist poetry in English in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Aubrey Thomas de Vere
Aubrey Thomas de Vere
Aubrey Thomas de Vere was an Irish poet and critic.-Life:He was born at Curraghchase_Forest_Park, Kilcornan, County Limerick, the third son of Sir Aubrey de Vere Hunt and younger brother to Stephen De Vere. In 1832 his father dropped the final name by royal licence. Sir Aubrey was himself a poet...
's 1863 poem Inisfail is an example.
The term Fianna Fáil ("the Fianna
Fianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....
, warriors, or army of Ireland"; sometimes rendered "the soldiers of destiny") has been used as a sobriquet for the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
; on the cap badge of the Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
; in the opening line of the Irish-language version of the Irish national anthem
Amhrán na bhFiann
is the national anthem of Ireland. The music was composed by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney, and the original English lyrics were authored by Kearney. It is sung in the Irish language translation made by Liam Ó Rinn. The song has three verses, but the national anthem consists of the chorus only...
; and as the name of the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
political party, one of the main parties in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
See also
- Stone of SconeStone of SconeThe Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
the "Stone of Destiny" for coronation of Scottish, English, and British monarchs. - Stones of MoraStones of MoraStones of Mora was the place where the Swedish kings were elected. The origin of the tradition is unknown.-Mora Meadow:In Lagga parish about 10 km south-east of Uppsala, but in neighbouring Knivsta Municipality, is Mora äng...
where the Swedish kings were elected. - Prince's StonePrince's StoneThe Prince's Stone is the reversed base of an ancient Ionic column that played an important role in the ceremony surrounding the installation of the princes of Carantania in the Early Middle Ages...
where the princes of Carantania and dukes of Carinthia were installed. - Sword in the stone (King Arthur) also revealed the rightful king.
- Blarney StoneBlarney StoneThe Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab . The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446...
tourist attraction said to endow those kissing it with the "gift of the gab". - De Shíl Chonairi Móir
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 PerilleuxSiege PerilousIn Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy Grail. This knight is either Perceval or Sir Galahad, depending on the version of the story...
and the Lia Fáil or 'Stone of Destiny'." SpeculumSpeculumThe term speculum, Latin for "mirror", and its plural specula, may refer to:* Speculum , a medical tool used for examining body cavities* Speculum , a journal of medieval studies published by the Medieval Academy of America...
31 (1956): 258 ff. - Ó Broin, Tomás. "Lia Fáil: fact and fiction in tradition." CelticaCelticaCeltica: Journal of the School of Celtic Studies is an academic journal devoted to Celtic studies, with particular emphasis on Irish literature, linguistics and placenames. It was founded in 1946 and has since been published by the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced...
21 (1990): 393-401.