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GIANT'S CAUSEWAY
Clochán na bhFómharach
near Bushmills, County Antrim
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The Giant's Causeway gets its name from a famous Irish
fable about the legendary Finn McCool. As the legend goes,
Fionn mac Cumhaill, Anglicized as Finn McCool, was a gentle
giant of fifty-two feet and six inches tall. As giants
go, he was a relatively small one.
There was a rival giant in Scotland called Benadonner,
also as Benandonner. The two giants would holler across
the sea at each other, each demanding a trial of strength.
At one point, Finn was so angered that he scooped up a
large bit of the land and threw it at Benadonner. However
he missed and it landed in the Irish Sea. That piece of
land became the Isle of Man.
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When it was finally agreed that the giants would meet,
Finn offered to built a bridge/causeway between the two
countries. When the bridge was complete, Finn was so exhausted
that upon returning home he instantly fell asleep.
Oonagh was Finn's wife and a giantess. She woke early the
next morning to find her husband sound asleep. It was the
day of the battle and her husband would not wake. When she
heard Benadonner's approaching footsteps she looked out
to see that he was truly gigantic. She knew her husband
would be no match for the Scottish giant, so, quick thinking,
she covered Finn with a nightgown and bonnet.
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Finn McCool
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When Benadonner arrived at the McCool home, he stormed
in looking for Finn, saying "Where's Finn? Where
it the coward hiding?"
"Be quiet," warned Oonagh, "or you'll
waken the bairn!"
Benadonner panicked the moment he eyed the sleeping baby.
If the child was this big, how big was the father? He
didn't stick around to find out. He bid a hasty retreat
across the causeway, destroying it in his wake.
Today, the causeway is an area that contains about 40,000
interlocking basalt stone columns, which are the result
of an ancient volcanic eruption that flowed into the sea
along the North Antrim coast. Most of the stones are hexagonal
shaped, six-sided, but there are some with four, five,
seven and eight sides. The tallest column is 12 meters
in height (about 36 feet). Solidified lava that makes
up the cliffs is 28 meters in some places (about 92 feet).
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It's strange to think of Ireland as having any volcanos,
but during the Paleogene Period, a time that lasted 42 million
years and is most notable for being the time in which mammals
evolved, Ireland was subject to intense volcanic activity,
particularly in Antrim. When highly fluid molten basalt
intruded through chalk beds it formed an extensive lava
plateau. Contraction occurred as the lava rapidly cooled.
While contraction in the vertical direction reduced the
flow thickness (without fracturing), horizontal contraction
could only be accommodated by cracking throughout the flow.
The extensive fracture network produced the distinctive
columns seen today. The basalts were originally part of
a great volcanic plateau called the Thulean Plateau which
formed during the Paleogene period.
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Basalt Stones |
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The "discovery" of the Giant's Causeway was
made in 1693 by Sir Richard Bulkeley, a fellow of Trinity
College in Dublin, in a paper he presented to the Royal
Society. However, the Bishop of Derry had visited the
site a year early and claims the credit to the discovery.
The site was largely ignored again until 1730 when Dublin
artist Susanna Drury painted a watercolor of it and won
a first place award presented by the Royal Dublin Society
in 1740.
It was in the 19th century that the causeway first became
a popular tourist attraction, particularly after the opening
of the Giant's Causeway Tramway.
The site was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the
Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In
a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway
was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the
United Kingdom. Today the Giant's Causeway is owned and
managed by the National Trust (of Great Britain) and is
Northern Ireland's most popular tourist attraction.
Today visitors can walk all over the site. There are
fifteen miles of footpaths to enjoy. There are also several
unusual features of interest, including The Organ, Giant's
Boot, Giant's Eyes, Shepherd's Steps, the Honeycomb, Giant's
Harp, Chimney Stacks, Giant's Gate and the Camel's Hump,
as well as Finn McCool's Seat.
The area is a haven for sea birds such as fulmar, petrel,
cormorant, shag, redshank guillemot and razorbill. Between
the weathered stone are a number of rare and unusual plants
including sea spleenwort, hare's foot trefoil, vernal
squill, sea fescue and frog orchid.
Visitor's are asked to remember the dangers of such an
attraction, which include —
- Big waves
- Unfenced drops
- Uneven surfaces, often slippery when wet
- Loose rocks, falling stones and soil slippage
- Dramatic weather, strong winds and heavy rain
at times
- A bus service operates from the Visitor Centre
to the Causeway stones - please watch out for
vehicles
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~ Pay attraction, includes the shuttle
bus to the site
~ Visitor's center includes audio/visual theater, cafe,
gift shop, toilets
~ Parking available
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Limited accessibility, uneven surfaces.
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