The Giant's Causeway - a story

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland.

The story goes that the benevolent Irish giant, Finn McCool (mac Cumhaill), lived a good and peaceful life up with his wife, Oonagh, in what is today County Antrim. The Scottish giant, Benandonner, lived across the sea and was a great, bad-tempered, shouting giant. Because they lived across the water from each other, the two giants - one Irish and one Scottish - never did see each other but this didn't stop Benandonner from shouting insults over to Finn McCool.

One day, Finn McCool had had enough and all through the night he picked up strangely shaped rocks and placed them in the water, creating a bridge -- or a causeway -- to the Scottish side where Benandonner lived. In the morning, when Finn McCool heard Benandonner begin his daily hurling of insults, Finn challenged Benandonner to come across the causeway and to say these things to his face. At that, Benandonner began making his way across to Finn McCool.

Upon seeing Benandonner on the causeway, Finn McCool realized how much larger of a giant was Benandonner and ran back to his home in great fear where he told all to his wife, Oonagh. Now, Oonagh, being a clever one, told Finn McCool to calm himself and have his morning tank of ale in the other room, which he did. What Finn did not realize was that Oonagh had put a sleeping potion in Finn's ale and out he went! Once Finn had fallen asleep, Oonagh quickly wrapped him in a blanket and popped his thumb in his mouth and left him to sleep.

Just then, there was a great pounding and roaring at the door -- there stood Benandonner, shouting for Finn McCool. Oonagh scolded Benandonner and told him that Finn was out for his morning walk but for Benandonner to stop his shouting because she had just put the baby to sleep. She told Benandonner that he was welcome to come in for some tea and to wait for Finn but that if he woke the baby, there would be trouble to pay. So, Benandonner sat down to wait and quietly had some tea. And as he drank his tea, he thought and he realized that he had never before heard that Finn McCool had a baby. He poked his head into the other room to see if this was true and there Benandonner saw a baby fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket with his thumb in his mouth -- and the size of a full-grown giant and with a great ginger beard. Upon seeing this baby, Benandonner thought to himself that if this was what Finn McCool's baby was like, Finn himself must be a giant amongst giants. With that, Benandonner fled back to Scotland in fright and destroyed the causeway behind him with his great mallet so that Finn could not follow him.

Finn McCool woke up just as Benandonner crashed out of his home and stumbled out of his home as Benandonner was nearly back to Scotland. Finn McCool roared out after Benandonner and taking a huge great handful of dirt, threw it at the Scottish giant; however, still being groggy and disoriented from the sleeping potion, Finn's aim was terrible and he missed entirely, the handful of dirt landing in the ocean. This became the Isle of Man.

And this is the story of the Giant's Causeway and the Isle of Man.

    --- the version of the legend as told to us by our guide, Jack.