Lia Fáil

The Fál or Lia Fáil, meaning Stone of Fál, is a stone at the Inauguration Mound on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland. It served as the coronation stone for the King of Tara and hence High King of Ireland. It is also known as the Stone of Destiny or Speaking Stone. According to legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach mac Ercae, c. 500 AD. Archibald Geikie noted resemblances to the calcareous red sandstone of which the Stone of Scone is composed, but the stones are not currently believed to have come from connected quarry sites. It has also been identified as a whitish granitoid.

Several conflicting legends describe how the stone came to Ireland. The Lebor Gabala, dating to the eleventh century, states that it was brought in antiquity by the semi-divine Tuatha Dé Danann from the city of Falias, together with three other treasures: the Sword of Light, the Spear of Lugh and the Dagda's Cauldron. Some Scottish chroniclers, such as John of Fordun and Hector Boece, treat it as the same as the Stone of Scone in Scotland, saying it left Tara in AD 500 when the High King Murtagh MacEirc loaned it to his great-uncle Fergus for his coronation in Scotland.

The historian William Forbes Skene remarked that while the Scottish legend brings the stone at Scone from Ireland, the Irish legend brings the stone at Tara from Scotland. The Dindsenchas reports that the Lia Fáil would roar in the presence of a false king pretending to hold dominion in Ireland.

The stone was thought to be magical. When the rightful High King of Ireland put his feet on it, it was said to roar in joy, and it was credited with the power to rejuvenate the king and give him a long reign. According to Lebor Gabála Érenn, Cúchulainn split it with his sword when it failed to cry out under his protégé Lugaid Riab nDerg. From then on it never cried out again, except under Conn of the Hundred Battles and, according to legend, at the coronation of Brian Boru in 1002.

The stone was originally called Fál, a word of obscure meaning. From it the Tuatha Dé Danann named Ireland Inis Fáil, island of Fál, and the stone in turn was named Lia Fáil, Standing Stone of Ireland. The name lives on in Fianna Fáil, the name of a major political party in the republic. In recent years the stone has been vandalised: damaged by a hammer in 11 places in June 2012, covered by green and red paint over at least 50% of its surface in May 2014, and spray painted with the word Fake in February 2023.

Archibald Geikie noted resemblances to the calcareous red sandstone of which the Stone of Scone is composed; it is not currently believed the stones originated from connected quarry sites. It has also been identified as a whitish granitoid.