You can study the site before your visit, but nothing can compare to a stroll along the cliff sides above the "Causeway Coast." But instead of describing the sheer beauty of this ancient seaside volcanic formation (or the actual geological process by which this wonder was formed), I'll relate my favorite version of the local legend:
According to Irish folklore, the giant Finn McCool had a rivalry with his Scottish counterpart, the giant Benandonner. Finn was renowned throughout Ireland for his feats of of strength, and he wished to cement his reputation by fighting Benandonner. Finn built a causeway of stone from Ireland to Scotland so he could meet Benandonner in battle.
However, he soon heard that Benandonner was indeed much larger and stronger. Finn knew he could not win in a battle of strength, so he and his wife Una concocted the perfect plan. They invited Benandonner to come and fight Finn in Ireland. But before the Scottish giant arrived, Una dressed Finn in the clothes of a baby and placed him in a giant cradle. When Benandonner arrived in Ireland, he found Una tending to an enormous child. Benandonner assumed the child to be Finn's son. He was afraid because, after all, if the baby was as big as a giant, how large must the father be?
Benandonner, fearing a sound defeat from a supposedly enormous Irish giant, fled back to Scotland across the causeway; in his hasty retreat, the giant broke up the bridge, and all that remained can be seen today: two uneven remnants made of hexagonal basalt columns, stretching out into the sea, rising and sinking with the tide.
Even the most doubtful among us couldn't help but feel a bit of the magic as we climbed into Finn McCool's "wishing chair" (a man-sized seat that appears carved into the columns of the lesser branch of the causeway). After all it's clear: Ireland is no place for the skeptic or the cynic.
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