The Story of Giant’s Causeway

Giants and Mythology are rich in Ireland’s history.

On the Northern Tip of Northern Ireland is an astounding stretch of volcanic rock formed over 50 million years ago.

The Giant’s Causeway is one of the wonders of the world and a UNESCO Heritage Site. Formed by volcanic activity, there are over 40,000 basalt stones that rose to the earth’s surface, cooled at different temperatures, and formed what is now a natural phenomenon.

But take a closer look at those stones. Could they possibly be made from giant hands?

There are two legends associated with the causeway and well, what caused it. Both include giants.

A Tale of Two Giants

Fionn MacCumhaill loved his homeland of Ireland. He was a giant known throughout the land for boasting about how well he could fight.

Benandonner was a giant from Scotland and too was a bit of a hothead (go figure). He was also known as a good fighter and loved to challenge anyone to a duel.

Word reached Fionn in Ireland that Benandonner had made a claim to Fionn’s island. Ireland was one of the many islands that Benandonner held and he would fight anyone who said otherwise.

Well, as you can imagine, this made Fionn quite angry. In his rage, Fionn began to pick up stones and throw them into the sea. As he did this, he saw that the storms formed a causeway across to Benandonner’s island. He decided to build this bridge so that he could meet Benandonner face to face to make a proper fight to defend his land.

However, once Fionn laid eyes on Benandonner, he knew he was in trouble. Benandonner was quite large even for a giant. Fionn knew he was outmatched. The only way to win was to outsmart his opponent.

So before Benandonner could make his way over to Ireland, Fionn hightailed it back to Ireland with a brilliant idea. He had his wife, Sadhbh, disguise him as a baby. When Benandonner reaches Ireland, he sees the size of the child and thinks that Fionn must be huge! He quickly retreats back to Scotland, destroying the causeway as he goes so that Fionn cannot follow.

Fionn keeps his beloved Ireland as his own.

All for Love

The other story, of course, is about true love.

In this story, the Irish giant was in love with a Scottish maiden. He was disheartened because he could not figure out how to get to his love. One day, he was skimming stones in the ocean. As the stones fell, he saw that they formed a bridge over the sea and so he began to build the causeway. He worked all day on the causeway and then went home at night and told his grandmother his plan.

His grandmother heard his story and became saw afraid she would lose her only grandson to Scotland. So she decided to use her magic to send the waves to destroy the causeway.

When the giant rose the next morning, he saw that his causeway was gone. But he was resilient and began to build again. However, each night, his grandmother would destroy the work he had done.

Finally, he began to work through the night. His love for his maiden was far greater than the strength of the sea. As he worked carried and threw stone after stone, his grandmother sent the waves out to destroy the work not. She did not realize that he was there. He used all of his strength to finish the causeway, and as he reached the other side, he died in the arms of his love.

When his grandmother saw what she had done, she turned to stone. She still stands on one of the hills overlooking the sea between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

A Visit

Whatever story you like, visiting this beautiful site is well worth it. The views are stunning, the cliff walk is exhilarating, and the science and history of the place are captivating. As one of the guides at the site said, “On a good day, you can see Scotland. On a bad day, you can see England.” Besides, if it’s too cold that day, you can visit the Bushmills Distillery nearby and warm up!

Want to see more pics? Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!