The "Lia Fáil", or Stone of Destiny, is said to have been brought to Ireland by a race known as the "Tuatha Dé Danaan", (the people of the goddess Danú), from the city of Falias, in "Tír na n-Óg" (The Land of the Ever-Young), sometime in the very distant past. It originally stood on the northern side of the burial mound known as "Dúmha na nGiall", or the Mound of the Hostages, which is the oldest structure at Tara, pre-dating the building of the Great Pyramid of Egypt by nearly a thousand years. The phallus-shaped stone stands some five and a half feet (1.7 metres) in height, and it is thought that approximately the same length exists underground as above. According to legend, the magical stone would roar when the rightful claimant to the kingship of Tara touched it, thereby conferring the approval of the ancient powers on his claim. The "Lia Fáil", looking west at sunset. The stone was moved to its present location on top of the mound known as "Teach Cormac", or King Cormac's house, after the Battle of Tara in 1798, and marks the burial site of those courageous and valiant "rebels" who died on this most symbolic and sacred Hill in the quest for freedom for their beloved land, a struggle which was not to see fulfillment for another one hundred and twenty-four years, when Ireland regained its independence as a free nation. Copyright © 2003 www.TaraMagic.com Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Liability, trademark, document use and software copyright rules apply.