The Giant’s Causeway, Ireland – More Than Just Myths
Ireland | October 8, 2010 | 1 CommentDark o’er the foam-white waves,
The giants’ pier the war of tempests braves,
A far projecting, firm, basaltic way
Of clustering columns wedged in dense array;
With skill so like, yet so surpassing art,
With such design, so just in every part,
That reason pauses, doubtful if it stand
The work of mortal, or immortal hand.
(Taken from the poem ‘The Giant’s Causeway’ by William Hamilton Drummond)
This formation along the coast of Antrim may have left the ancient Irish baffled; and why wouldn’t it? For long now, even modern scientists have been baffled by this formation.
Thackeray, when he visited the region, was impressed by the strangeness and the vagueness of this place. These were his exact words –
‘When the world was molded and fashioned out of formless chaos, this must have been the bit over – a remnant of chaos.’
He, just like other travelers of that time had heard that the region was some form of geological freak; and was caused due to volcanic eruptions and the cooling of lava.
The Myths About Giant’s Causeway:
The ancient locals of Ireland, however, had other stories to give to the world. They obviously knew that this was the work of certain giants and it was built in between their battle with each other.
This work was supposedly undertaken by a giant called Fionn mac Cumhaill. Fionn was said to be strong enough to pick out thorns from his heels while he was in the process of running.
The fact of the matter is that there are two myths that surround this natural phenomenon; but both of them do speak of the giant Fionn.
Myth 1:
Fionn was in between a fight with a Scottish giant once. He scooped up a huge clod of mud and he used it to fling at his rival who was running away. The clod of earth is said to have fallen into the sea and it then turned into the Isle of Man.
He then was said to have fallen in love with a lady giant who lived over at the Staffa, which is an island in the Hebrides. It is said he built this highway to help her make the journey across to Ulster.
Myth 2:
In order to prove his superiority to the world, Fionn decided to fight against a Scottish giant called Benandonner. There wasn’t a boat in Ireland that was large enough to carry Fionn across; so he created this pathway all the way across to Scotland. Using this pathway as stepping stones, he made his way from Ireland to Scotland without really wetting his feet.
When he finally crossed the sea, he noticed that Benandonner was larger than he’d imagined. In fear, Fionn fled back to Ireland, before Benandonner could have seen him. However, as luck would have it, Benandonner used the causeway and came to Ireland on Fionn’s trail.
In an attempt to save himself, Fionn hid in the crib. When Benandonner got there, Fionn’s wife told Benandonner to keep it down or he’d wake up the baby. Looking at how large the ‘baby’ was, the contender was afraid and rushed back to Scotland. In order to ensure that Fionn didn’t follow him back, Benandonner tore up the causeway as he ran back to Scotland.
Scientifically Speaking:
The Giant’s Causeway is in fact a mass of basalt columns that have been packed tightly in. The top of these column basalts look like stepping stone and they lead right from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea after a certain distance. All put together, there are about 40,000 of these basalt columns; and most of them are hexagonal. However, there are some with four and five sides. You may also see the occasional seven sided basalt column.
Touring The Giant’s Causeway and Antrim:
If you decide to take a circular walk around the area, you might walk past amphitheaters created from stone columns; all of which have fancy names like Honeycomb, the Giant’s Granny and the Wishing Well.
There is a stunning rope bridge a little further along the coast of Antrim. This bridge is what connects the coast and a small island that is used by the fishermen. There is an eighty foot drop to consider while you cross over the swinging wooden bridge. This isn’t a feat for the faint hearted.
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I have always loved myths. Yes, there is something truth about giants, dragons and legends that attract people in. May be that is because they are all bit scary. We know that none of them are actually real then to we get involved in these stories. I really would like to visit this Ireland.