Giants Causeway Myths and Legends

Forget whatever you may have heard about the Giants Causeway being formed by volcanic activity and cooling lava, it was of course built by that most famous Irish giant, Finn MacCool!

Finn lived on the North Coast of Ireland and had a great rivalry with another giant, Benandonner, across the sea in Scotland. The two giants would shout at each other across the water, and after a dispute about their respective fighting ability, Finn grabbed a rock and threw it towards Scotland, issuing a challenge to settle this claim. Benandonner responded with another rock, saying he could not swim. Finn MacCool then tore slabs of volcanic rock from the plateau around him to pave a causeway to let his rival cross.

Benandonner had to accept his challenge, came across the causeway and entered Finn MacCool's house to find the comparatively small (by giant standards) Finn dressed as a baby. Upon seeing the size of the "baby", and working out what size his father must be, Benandonner fled all the way back to Scotland, destroying the causeway as he crossed the sea to prevent . The remains are what we now know as the Giants Causeway.