For the second time in two years, police are investigating vandalism to the Lia Fail, the 5,000-year-old standing stone on the top of the Hill of Tara, 40 kilometres northwest of Dublin, Ireland. In June 2012 the stone was damaged with an axe. It is now almost completely covered with green and red paint. Visitors to the Hill have been shocked at the sight.
     The monolith was the inauguration Stone for the Kings of Tara - said to 'roar' when touched by the rightful king - and is a designated national monument.
     Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts Heritage, said: "This act of mindless vandalism, on one of our premier archaeological sites, is truly shameful."
     Ian Doyle, archaeologist and head of conservation with the Heritage Council, called it "an act of cultural vandalism." Doyle says local people and others, "have a close relationship with the Hill of Tara, and this is an assault on their sense of pride and the respect, love and affection they have for it."

Edited from Irish Mirror, The Meath Chronicle (29 May 2014)