The Legend of Fionn Mac Cumhail (Finn MacCool)

Legend

Feb 28

Stories of Fionn abound but at the heart of each is this simple truth.

Fionn Mac Cumhail gained an understanding of the past, present, future because of the magical salmon he ate from the River Boyne. By the time he died, he had amassed all the knowledge in the world long before Google.

He was big, very big, a giant in fact.

So big that one day in a fit of temper he scooped a single clod of earth and hurled it into the sea creating Lough Neagh and the Isle of Man in a single sweep. Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in Britain, it’s said to be bottomless and exactly the same size as the Isle of Man so Mac Cumhail must have had a quare grip*.

The challenge that never was

One day, Fionn heard there was another giant, Benandonner who lived across the narrow, storm- tossed waters that separate the north coast of Ireland from the isle of Staffa in Scotland. Giant etiquette demanded that he fight his Scottish rival to see who was stronger, so he set to and built a causeway made of interlocking hexagonal stones, the Giants Causeway .

There is an alternative theory about the causeway being made from volcanic action but hardly worth considering.

Fionn arrived in Scotland to find a giant much larger than himself. He did the sensible thing and ran back over the causeway chased by the Scottish giant. When ge got back Fionn’s wife, Oonagh, hid him in her baby’s pram.

If that’s the Baby….

Benandonner seeing Fionn in the baby’s pram took fright, if this was the baby how big must his father be? Now it was his turn to run back across the causeway destroying it behind him as he went.

The remains of each end of the Causeway can still be found on the Antrim Coast of Ireland and on Staffa at Fingal’s Cave. Proof positive if ever we needed it that Fionn Mac Cumhail was indeed the greatest giant that ever lived.

A visit to the Causeway Coast where much of Game of Thrones was filmed is a must for any trip to Ireland. The Coast road has to be one of the most dramatic in Europe with so much to see, Dunluce Castle, the Glens of Antrim, The Dark Hedges (The Kings Road in Game of Thrones). It is said the best Scones in Ireland can be found in the tiny Cafe and picturesque harbour of Balintoy and for those who favour a drop off the good stuff, this is the home of Bushmills Whiskey.

Inspired by Nature (or Giants)

Irish jewelry designers are often inspired by the landscape, the legends and even the weather that makes Ireland unique. One example is the Giants Causeway jewellery collection from House of Lor that reflect the amazing interlocking shapes created by the big man, Fionn Mac Cumhail.

BTW - we are not on commission from any artisans, artists or suppliers we link to - we just admire their work and buy their products ourselves.

Ireland is the home of so many small businesses that all add to the experience.