The Giants Causeway

Last Wednesday I did a day trip to The Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, Dunluce Castle and the Old Bushmills Distillery. It was a fantastic day - the scenery was spectacular.

An Irish legend about the creation of the Giants causeway focusses on Finn MacCool. Here's a version of it I gleaned from my trip to the causeway. Finn was reputed to be the leader of the Fianna, the guardians of the King of Ireland. One day, Finn was going about his daily duties on the north coast when a Scottish giant started to shout and ridicule his fighting prowess. Finn was very angry and he lifted a lump of earth and pelted it to Scotland as a challenge to this giant. The Scottish giant retaliated, throwing a rock back to Finn shouting that if he could get his hand on him, he would make sure that Finn would never fight again but adding that unfortunately he could not swim the short distance across the Channel, so Finn would be spared that fate. Finn was so enraged by this he tore large pieces from the cliffs, pushing them into the ocean bed and making a sturdy causeway to Scotland. When he had finished he shouted 'Now you'll had no excuse'. Fearing to lose his own reputation and pride the Scottish giant had no alternative but come over the causeway. As the Scottish giant began to approach, Finn saw how big he was, and was a little afraid, for the Scottish giant was much bigger than he was. He thought quickly and came up with an ingenious plan. He made a large cot disguised himself as a baby and climbed inside...... and waited. The Scottish giant arrived at Finn's house shouting, 'Where is that coward MacCool', and noticed the crib and the baby inside it. His eyes widened with fear as he thought to himself - 'My goodness if this is the size of the baby, how big is the Father?'. The Scottish giant, terrified of meeting the father of this child turned on his heels and ran like he had never ran before, back across the causeway to Scotland destroying it as he went, leaving just the crumbled stone that remains today.