An Irish Bedtime Story

Once upon a time, many years before you were born, there lived an Irish man named Finn McCool. Now, Finn was not an ordinary Irishman. He was a giant and towered over all the other Irish folk of the day. Finn was a Renaissance man of sorts, that is to say that he was extraordinarily good at most things he did. He was a magnificent musician, an athlete, and a well educated man. The one thing Finn could not do well was swim. He was absolutely terrified of swimming in the water, which was unfortunate for him, seeing as how he lived on an island.

Another unfortunate circumstance in Finn's life was his inability to find a suitable mate. He was so big and tall that even though his nature was friendly, people were afraid of his sheer size. No woman in Ireland could even come close to his size to make a proper wife for him. Finn was deeply saddened by this and lived alone in misery for a time. One day, however, a man told Finn that he knew a lady in Scotland who just might be the woman for Finn. She was beautiful and eligible and, best of all, she was big and tall like Finn McCool. The man told Finn that her name was Maeve and that he could take Finn to meet her.

But alas, misfortune struck, as it has been known to do in such stories. In Finn's day, the only way to get from place to place was to go by land or sea. Ireland, as you know, is an island which narrows international travel options to one: sea. Finn was unable to fit in any boat known to the people of the time. He saw his hopes of finally finding a wife dashed. Swimming to Scotland should have been no trouble for a man of Finn's size and strength, but as you've learned, Finn McCool was a terrible swimmer. Disheartened, Finn sat down on the coast and tried to deal with his disappointment.

Suddenly, Finn had an idea. He picked up one of the very large hexagonal rocks and threw it into the sea. He threw another and another and kept throwing until, a short time later, the rocks formed stepping stones in the water. Finn kept throwing the boulders out until he could walk all the way from the Irish coast to the Scottish coast. He searched the towns for Maeve, asking any villagers who'd talk to him where he could find her. At last, he found her house on the top of a hill. She came to the door and she was everything he'd ever hoped for. She had red hair and was very pretty. Finn thought she was the most gorgeous creature he'd ever seen.

It did not take Finn long to convince Maeve to come back to Ireland with him. Together, they crossed the causeway Finn had made back to Ireland. They lived quite happily for some time until Maeve came to Finn with a confession. She told him that she had been in a relationship with a giant in Scotland who was bigger and meaner than Finn. This man would certainly be looking for her now. At just this moment, Finn and Maeve heard the thundering footsteps of Maeve's suitor coming across the causeway. Thinking quickly, Maeve wrapped Finn in a tablecloth and shoved him into the bedroom where he lay almost totally concealed.

The giant came into the house and demanded that Maeve come back to Scotland. She refused, saying she was married and the giant grew furious. He pushed through the house, looking for the man who had stolen his girl. Seeing his roughness, Maeve cried out that he was going to hurt her baby. The giant peered into the room where Finn was hiding in the cloth and saw only the bundle in the bed. The giant turned around and ran away as fast as he could calling back, "If that's the size of the baby, I'd hate to see the father!" He ran all the way back to Scotland but he grew fearful that Finn would come after him, so he destroyed the bridge by throwing all the stones back to the Irish coast where they remain to this day.

That is the legend of Finn McCool as it was told to me. I am quite sure there are other versions, but that is the one I learned. I visited Giant's Causeway on Friday in Northern Ireland and it was an amazing sight. The rocks are more like pillars and they truly are almost perfect hexagons.


We got to climb on the rocks which was a lot of fun. They are like stairs because they are of varying heights and they are flat so it is easy to walk all over them.


I suppose you'll want to know the other story behind these rocks. The other explanation is that a volcanoe erupted and formed the structure and shape of the rocks and pillars we see today. I suppose that could be true, but I like the Finn McCool version, even if it is a little longer.

It's up to you to decide which story you believe, but perhaps this will sway you. I sat in Finn McCool's boot, which he left behind on the beach one day. How do you like that? I don't think volcanoes wear boots, so explain that one away.

I had a lot of fun at Giant's Causeway. I took an extra long hike up a big hill to see more but I didn't take a lot of pictures with my own camera. When they become available to me, I'll post some more because the Causeway is really neat. It's weird that all the rocks are hexagonal and they fit together but there are small cracks in between. It was a really great way to spend the afternoon.