Giant's Causeway Legend & Fact on a Celtic Invasion Vacation

Travel Ireland & Scotland

In county Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland is the giants causeway. What one Radio Times poll named the fourth greatest wonder of the United Kingdom. 40,000 interlocking basalt columns line the coast, the result of a volcanic eruption millions of years ago. Now it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland.

Find the complete Giant's Causeway shownotes here.

The wind was pretty fierce as bus drove us the 1/2 mile from the visitors center to the Giants Causeway. We were excited.

At first glance after exiting the bus, it was beautiful but disappointing. There were a bunch of people milling about on the rocks in a very small area. A big sign and guard halted people from climbing up further on this national wonder.

Then I found a passage through the rocks that was overlooked by many of the visitors. On the other side, like crossing through the thin veil, we saw the true majesty of these rocks. Plus a long path along the coast where you could get a better view.

When we got back to the visitors center, One of my Invaders told me about the singing rocks they found.

That was all cool but what got me excited most about this trip was the legend behind it--Finn MacCool.

Finn MacCool was a giant living on the north coast of Ireland. On a clear day you can see the island Staffa in Scotland. There lived a Scottish giant named Benandonner. They taunted one another from afar until finally Finn MacCool tossed long pillars of stone into the water all the way to Scotland, creating a long causeway between the countries.

When Finn arrived, he was surprised to find that Benandonner was a lot bigger than Finn. He fled back home and told his wife Oonagh, who came up with a plan. She told Finn to dress like a baby and climb in a crib.

When Benandonner knocked on their door Oonagh told him that Finn was out hunting. When Benandonner saw the size of the baby that belonged to Finn and compared it to the human sized Oonagh, he realized Finn must be even bigger than he. So he fled Ireland destroying the Causeway between the two countries.

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