Irish myths and legends ( 1 ) - The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is in County Antrim on the north east coast of Northern Ireland.

It consists of tens of thousands of stone pillars like a pathway leading out into the sea. The stones are mainly hexagonally shaped although some are four, five, seven or eight sided. The tallest are nearly 40 feet high. They were formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The volcanoes spewed out their lava and as it cooled it contracted and caused the spectacular shaped columns we see today; thousands of them like stepping stones.

It is a beautiful place looking out to Scotland over the sea, very ethereal and spiritual. The causeway runs under the sea between Scotland and Northern Ireland and indeed comes out on the other side in Scotland with another causeway. On the Scottish side, it is not accessible but it is still there. The Scottish Causeway therefore is not as well-known as the Northern Irish Causeway.

• puca- a mischievous shape changer, malevolent or benevolent
• bean sidhe ( ban shee ) - a female spirit who foretells the death of a family member by wailing
• dullahan - irish fairy
• leprechaun- a little, drunk fairy shoe maker, beer drinker
• merrow - a sea fairy
• sideog ( she -og ) - an irish fairy
• cluricaun - irish spirit who drinks anything alcoholic
• Fear Dearg - a  mischievous spirit like a leprechaun but dressed all in red

Given the traditions and the geology it is not surprising that a myth about such a beautiful place developed.

The giant Fionn (Finn) appears in a few Irish myths and legends

The Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhall (Finn McCool), was at home with his wife Oonagh one day when a stranger arrived and delivered a challenge to Fionn to fight a Scottish giant variably known as Angus, Cu Challain or Benandona.

Fionn accepted the challenge and worked hard to build a causeway across the sea so that the two giants could meet.

One evening Fionn came home and Oonagh was looking anxiously at him. She had heard that the Scottish giant was much bigger than Fionn and was definitely stronger.

Fionn announced that if he couldn't beat the Scottish giant by strength, he would beat him by being clever.

Oonagh promptly set to work sewing big baby clothes, disguised Fionn as a baby and put him in a big cot. When the giant arrived, Oonagh invited him in and said that he must not wake the baby. When the giant saw how huge “the baby" was he thought how HUGE Fionn, the baby's father, must be.

The giant ran back to Scotland across the causeway in fright, destroying the Causeway behind him, picking up the stones and throwing them down in the sea so that Fionn would not be able to follow him. Only a few stones remained jutting out into the sea.

The Scottish giant never returned to Ireland.