As far as Ireland goes, nothing could be more legendary then Finn McCool, or Fionn Mac Cumhaill. An Irish giant that decided to expand his territory by going across the Irish Sea to take on the Scottish giant. Fionn grabbed chunks of Ireland, throwing them into the sea so as not to get his toes wet. By doing so, he created the Isle of Mann, and numerous other islands, and the magnificent feature called the Giants Causeway. When he gets to Scotland and sees the giant Benandonner, he realized he is out matched when he sees how giant he is, no pun intended. So, he flees back across the sea. He grabs some baby clothes and hides at his wife’s place as a baby. Benandonner comes back to seek his revenge and comes to Fionn’s house. He sees how enormous the baby is in Ireland and decides there’s no way he’s messing with Daddy if baby is that big! He rips up the steppingstones on the way back to Scotland, so that Fionn could not follow.

Fionn mac Cumhaill

Oh, there are many other great stories with Fionn, well worth checking out. But I am more a believer that this is caused by nature, and possibly some drying volcanic lava. I can’t really describe how amazing this is to see in real life. There are numerous vertical stacks of basalt, like a chord of wood tilted on its side, reaching up to the sky. Then there is the playing board, literally looking like a game of QBert form the 80s. This is the most iconic image you see on it, but instead of a round alien hopping around there are tourist. Amazing spot for the sunrise too. If you make it all the way out here, then you really should hit Bushmill’s town, and the famous distillery. When I was there ten years ago, you could walk the distillery, smell the malt, and taste the booze. It is wonderful.

Giants Causeway

Bushmills

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