Finn McCool was a legendary Irish giant who, according to Irish mythology, built the Giant’s Causeway as a pathway to Scotland in order to fight Benandonner, his Scottish counterpart. From this point, there are two stories that surround the legend. One says Finn fell asleep on the causeway before reaching Scotland. When he failed to arrive, Benandonner stepped onto the causeway to look for him. In order to protect Finn, his wife Oonagh wrapped a blanket around Finn to pretend he was their son.
In another version, Finn was terrified when he saw the size of Benandonner and fled, asking Oonagh to wrap him in the blanket. However, both versions agree that Bendonner saw the size of the ‘child’ and assumed Finn was enormous and fled back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went to avoid Finn chasing him into Scotland. In another version of the story, Oonagh picked up a rock, painted it to look like a steak and gave it to Bendonner, while giving the ‘baby’ (Finn) a real steak. Bendonner fled when he saw the baby tearing into the steak with ease.
The Origins Of Finn McCool
Fionn Mac Cumhail, or Finn McCool was born to Cumhall, leader of the Fianna, a warrior band that lived in the forests of Ireland. His mother Muirne was the daughter of a druid named Tadg mac Nuadat, who had refused Cumhall his daughter’s hand in marriage. Displeased with the decision, Cumhall then abducted Muirne and Tadg asked the High King, who was known as Conn of The Hundred Battles, who immediately set about tracking down Cumhall. The two came to battle in Cnucha and Cumhall was slain by a warrior named Goll mac Morna, who then led Fianna.
By this time, Muirne was pregnant and her father ordered her to be burnt to death. However, Conn stepped in and overruled Tadg and asked druid Fiacal mac Conchinn and his wife, Bodhmall who was also Cumhall’s sister, to protect her. It was in Fiacal’s house that Muirne gave birth to a son she named Deimne, who was later to nicknamed Finn McCool.
Other Folklore Attributed To Finn
The legend of the causeway is just one in a number of legends regarding the giant. It is rumoured that he once picked up a piece of Ireland and flung it at a rival. It missed its target and landed in the Irish Sea and became the Isle of Man, while the void left behind is now known as Lough Neagh. In addition, Fingal’s Cave in Scotland was also named after him as it shares the same kind of rock formation that the causeway has in Ireland.
The Causeway Today
The columns of the causeway are hexagonal, although it is not unusual for some columns to have more or less sides. The tallest columns are around thirty six feet (twelve metres) high and lead from the foot of the cliffs and disappear into the sea.
In 1986, the causeway was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco and a Natural Nature Reserve by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987. The causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in a poll in 2005 and is today owned by the National Trust and is Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction.
Pete Cummings - A freelance writer of parenting, sports and history articles, I currently live in Bury, Greater Manchester in northern England and married ...
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