Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 159 



The second of these monuments is Dumha na n-Giall, or, the Mound of the 

 Hostages. It is a circular earthen mound similar to that last mentioned, but of 

 greater size, being 13f. high, 25f. in diameter at the top, and 66 f. in diameter 

 at the base. The original purpose of this monument is, like that of the preced- 

 ing, very obscure. In the poem of O'Lochain it is stated, that " King Cormac 

 made a visitation of Ireland thrice, and brought a hostage from every fortress, 

 which he exhibited at Temur, and that to these hostages he gave Dumha na 

 n-Giall." From this passage, therefore, it vFOuld appear that this mound was the 

 site of a habitation. 



It was at the side of the preceding monument that the celebrated coronation 

 stone, called the Lia Fail, was located in the time of the writers of the prose 

 and verse already referred to ; and it remained in the same situation till some 

 years after 1798, when it was removed to its present situation in the Rath, 

 called the Forradh, to mark the grave of the rebels, slain at Tara in the insurrec- 

 tion of that year. But the mound is still popularly called Bod F/iearghais, 

 that is, Penis Fergusii, an appellation derived from the form of this stone. 



The Lia Fail is spoken of, not only in these authorities but by all the ancient 

 Irish writers, in such a manner as to leave no doubt that it remained in its origi- 

 nal situation at the time when they wrote. Thus in the poem of Cuan 

 O'Lochain : 



" The Rath of the synods of great powers 

 To the north of the Fal of Temur, 

 East of the Rath at the side of The Stones, 

 Is the house from which Benen escaped." 



And the prose account of the monument in like manner states, that " Fal lies by 

 the side of Dumha na n-Giall to the north, i. e. the stone that roared under the 

 feet of each king that took possession of the throne of Ireland. Fal was the 

 name of this stone, that is Fo-ail, that is, the under stone, that is, the stone under 

 the king." 



A still stronger proof of its existence at Tara is furnished in the following 

 verse quoted by Keating, and by the books of Lecan and Ballymote, from a 

 poem of Kineth O' Hartigan, who, as already stated, lived in the tenth century : 



In cloc popp caic mo i>a pail This stone on which are my two heels 



huaiDi pairecrp Imp Pail From it is called Jnis Fail, 



