"giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this. In overall Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill is not a giant but a hero with supernatural abilities, contrary to what this particular legend may suggest. In ""Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry"" (1888) it is noted that,"
"over time, ""the pagan gods of Ireland [...] grew smaller and smaller in the popular imagination, until they turned into the fairies; the pagan heroes grew bigger and bigger, until they turned into the giants"". There are no surviving pre-Christian stories about the Giant's Causeway, but it may have originally been associated with the Fomorians (""Fomhóraigh""); the Irish name ""Clochán na bhFomhóraigh"" or ""Clochán na bhFomhórach"" means ""stepping stones of the ""Fomhóraigh"""". The ""Fomhóraigh"" are a race of supernatural beings in Irish mythology who were sometimes described as giants and who may have originally been part of a pre-Christian pantheon."
"of hexagonal basalt columns with the nearby Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. In both Irish and Manx popular folklore, Fionn mac Cumhail (known as ""Finn McCool"" or ""Finn MacCooill"" respectively) is portrayed as a magical, benevolent giant. The most famous story attached to this version of Fionn tells of how one day, while making a pathway in the sea towards Scotland – The Giant's Causeway – Fionn is told that the giant Benandonner (or, in the Manx version, a buggane) is coming to fight him. Knowing he cannot withstand the colossal Benandonner, Fionn asks his wife Oona to help him."
"died. According to the most popular account of Fionn's death, he is not dead at all, rather, he sleeps in a cave, surrounded by the Fianna. One day he will awake and defend Ireland in the hour of her greatest need. In one account, it is said that he will arise when the Dord Fiann, the hunting horn of the Fianna, is sounded three times, and he will be as strong and as well as he ever was. Many geographical features in Ireland are attributed to Fionn. Legend has it he built the Giant's Causeway as stepping-stones to Scotland, so"
"Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills. It 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. The tops of the"
"the name as Fingal (meaning ""white stranger"") through a misapprehension of the name which in old Gaelic would appear as Finn. The legend of the Giant's Causeway has Fionn or Finn building the causeway between Ireland and Scotland. The cave has a large arched entrance and is filled by the sea. Several sightseeing cruises organised from April to September by local companies pass the entrance to the cave. In calm conditions, one can land at the island's landing place (as some of these cruises permit) and walk the short distance to the cave, where a row of fractured columns forms"
"giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he is. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a"
"chose Stonehenge. The king sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (King Arthur's father), and 15,000 knights, to remove it from Ireland, where it had been constructed on Mount Killaraus by the Giants. They slew 7,000 Irish, but as the knights tried to move the rocks with ropes and force, they failed. Then Merlin, using ""gear"" and skill, easily dismantled the stones and sent them over to Britain, where Stonehenge was dedicated. After it had been rebuilt near Amesbury, Geoffrey further narrates how first Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pendragon, and finally Constantine III, were buried inside the ""Giants' Ring of Stonehenge"". In another"
"Alsace. In folklore from all over Europe, giants were believed to have built the remains of previous civilizations. Saxo Grammaticus, for example, argues that giants had to exist, because nothing else would explain the large walls, stone monuments, and statues that we now know were the remains of Roman construction. Similarly, the Old English poem ""Seafarer"" speaks of the high stone walls that were the work of giants. Even natural geologic features such as the massive basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Northern Ireland were attributed to construction by giants. Giants provided the least complicated explanation"
"are the and the . An old Irish story tells how Lough Neagh was formed when Ireland's legendary giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (commonly anglicised to Finn McCool) ripped up a portion of the land and tossed it at a Scottish rival. He missed, and the chunk of earth landed in the Irish Sea, thus creating the island. Peel Castle has been proposed as a possible location of the Arthurian Avalon or as the location of the Grail Castle, site of Lancelot's encounter with the sword bridge of King Melegaunt. One of the most often-repeated myths is that people found guilty"
"Cubbie Roo has departed far from his historical origins and has become a giant in the fashion that Finn MacCool (legendary builder of the Giant's Causeway) has in parts of Scotland and Ireland. He is said to have lived on the island of Wyre and used Orkney's islands as stepping stones. Many large stones on Orkney islands, including Shapinsay, are said to have been thrown or left there by the giant. Cubbie Roo's Burn is a waterway on Shapinsay that flows through a channel called ""Trolldgeo"". Cubbie Roo's Lade is a pile of stones on the shore near Rothiesholm Head,"
"another power car is in the care of the National Transport Museum of Ireland at Howth. Giant's Causeway Tramway The Giant's Causeway Tramway came about through the enthusiasm of William Atcheson Traill, M.A.Ing., of Ballylough (1844–1934), together with his brother Dr Anthony Traill, who between them undertook most of the promotion and fundraising for the line. W.A. Traill was a man with not only an interest in railways but also a keen interest in technological developments in engineering. The Act of Parliament incorporating 'The Giant's Causeway, Portrush, and Bush Valley Railway and Tramway Company' was passed on 26 August 1880."
"reasonable time. The site receives up to a thousand visitors per month. Scottish Author Michael Scott Rohan drew on the legend of Wade's Causeway, as well as wider English, Germanic and Norse mythology, when he wrote his ""Winter of the World"" trilogy while living in Yorkshire. The books feature mention of a legendary giant, Vayde, who ordered to be built a causeway across the marshes. English Heritage recognises the following historically significant sites in close proximity to Wade's Causeway: Wade's Causeway Wade's Causeway is a sinuous, linear monument up to 6,000 years old in the North York Moors national park"
"his parents. He and his followers set off from Greece, sailed via Sicily and arrived in Ireland from the west, having traveled for two and a half months. According to Céitinn, at the time of Partholón's arrival, Ireland consisted of one open plain, three lakes and nine rivers. Partholóin cleared four more plains, and seven more lakes burst from the ground. Named figures are credited with having introduced cattle husbandry, ploughing, cooking, dwellings, trade and dividing the island into four parts. In Céitinn's version of the story, at the Battle of Mag Itha, the first battle fought in Ireland, the"
"Hercules’ slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of Corunna. Another legend embodied in the 11th-century Irish compilation ""Lebor Gabála Érenn""—the ""Book of Invasions""—King Breogán, the founding father of the Galician Celtic nation, constructed a massive tower of such a grand height that his sons could see a distant green shore from its top. The glimpse of that distant green land lured them to sail north to Ireland. According to the legend Breogán's descendants stayed in Ireland and are the Celtic ancestors of the current Irish people. A colossal statue of Breogán has been erected near the Tower."
"confused with the Scottish Gaelic plural of ""clach"" which is ""clachan"" ""stones"", a homograph but not a homophone as it is pronounced /kʰl̪ˠaxən/. In Ireland: In the meaning of ""causeway"", the most prominent example in Irish is the Giant's Causeway, known in Irish as ""Clochán an Aifir"" or ""Clochán na bhFomhórach"". In Scotland, clachans can be found in Argyll and Bute, Highland Perthshire and in the Highland Council region but also elsewhere, for example: In Canada: Clachan A clachan (, , or , ; , ; , ) is a small settlement or hamlet in Ireland, the Isle of Man"
"Caesarius, a legendary figure associated with an assemblage of apparent tenth-century monuments at Penrith collectively known as The Giant's Grave. The nearby site of Castle Hewin (), a place name meaning ""Owain's castle"" (derived from """"), may well be named after the same man. A seventeenth-century account associates Owain Caesarius with the Giant's Caves, located on the north bank of the River Eamont. Owain ap Dyfnwal (died 1015) Owain ap Dyfnwal (died 1015) may have been an eleventh-century ruler of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. He seems to have been a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and may"
"in Belfast. Susanna Drury Susanna Drury, later Susanna Warter (c. 1698 – c. 1770) was an Irish painter. Though little is known of her life or work, she was very influential in the development of Irish landscape painting. She is chiefly noted for her watercolor drawings of the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, which brought international attention to the site. Drury was born around 1698. She was associated with the Dublin Society (later the Royal Dublin Society), which presented her with its first award, worth £25, in 1740 for her paintings of the Giant's Causeway. She had traveled to Ulster"
"with higher saline content than that found at the causeway. Although the basaltic columns of the Giant's Causeway are impressive, they are not unique. Basalt columns are a common volcanic feature, and they occur on many scales (because faster cooling produces smaller columns). The Belfast-Derry railway line run by Northern Ireland Railways connects to Coleraine and along the Coleraine-Portrush branch line to Portrush. Local Ulsterbus provide connections to the railway stations. There is a scenic walk of 7 miles from Portrush alongside Dunluce Castle and the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway. Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of"
"Gogmagog (giant) Gogmagog (also ""Goemagot, Goemagog, Goëmagot"" and ""Gogmagoc"") was a legendary giant in Welsh and later English folklore. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ""Historia Regum Britanniae"" (""The History of The Kings of Britain"", 12th century), he was a giant inhabitant of Albion, thrown off a cliff during a wrestling match with Corineus (a companion of Brutus of Troy). Gogmagog was the last of the Giants found by Brutus and his men inhabiting the land of Albion. The effigies of Gogmagog and Corineus, used in English pageantry and later instituted as guardian statues at Guildhall in London eventually earned the"
"the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) crossed over to Mann and settled near Cregneash. The buggane from Barrule came to do battle, but Finn did not want to fight. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguised Fionn as a baby and tucked him in a cradle. When the buggane saw the size of the 'baby', he thought that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants, and so he left. They eventually met near Kirk Christ Rushen and fought from sunrise to sunset. Fionn had one foot in the Big Sound, and so made the channel between the Calf of"
"tourists to enjoy the canal, such as taking part in the Great Glen Rally, cycling along the tow-paths, or cruising on Hotel Barges. The canal has several names in Scottish Gaelic including ""Amar-Uisge/Seòlaid a' Ghlinne Mhòir"" (""Waterway of the Great Glen""), ""Sligh'-Uisge na h-Alba"" (""Waterway of Scotland"") and a literal translation ""(An) Canàl Cailleannach"". Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. The canal runs some from northeast to southwest. Only"
"Fergus Mór Fergus Mór mac Eirc (; English: Fergus the Great) was a legendary king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc of Dalriada. While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotland in the national myth of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland is not in doubt. Rulers of Scotland from Cináed mac Ailpín until the present time claim descent from Fergus Mór. The historical record, such as it is, consists of an entry in the Annals of Tigernach, for the year 501, which states: ""Feargus Mor mac Earca cum gente Dal Riada partem"
"Tour in Ireland"" (p. 157): ""The Giants Causeway is an object which is scarcely worthy of going so far to see; however that is to be determined by the degree of curiosity of which the traveller is possessed. But the salmon-leap at Ballyshannon is a scene of such a singular nature, as is not to be found elsewhere, and is as peculiar to Ireland as the bullfights are to Spain..."". It was in Ballyshannon, around 1793, that Viscount Castlereagh, the future Chief Secretary for Ireland and, later, British Foreign Secretary, had his famous vision of the radiant boy. Known at"
"the Irish giant Finn Mac Cool during a fight with a Scottish giant. The Scottish giant is said to have created Lough Neagh by scooping a clod of earth from the ground. Having missed Mac Cool this clod landed in the Irish Sea where it became the Isle of Man. Kilbroney Park is set within the wider Rostrevor Oak Forest – a 16.63 hectare ancient woodland, national nature reserve and special area of conservation – and as well as oak, ash, hazel, sycamore, douglas fir, ferns, wild garlic, primroses and bluebells, contains rarer plants and trees. These include wood avens,"
"hills and gave birth to James Stewart, later known as the ""Mad Major"". The Loch she gave birth by is now known as Lochan na Mna, the Loch of the Woman, on the side of Beinn Domhnuill. Major James Stewart is one of the great historical characters of the Covenanting Wars and was the inspiration for ""Allan M'Aulay"". This name is actually engraved on the foot of Major Stewart's gravestone in the Stewarts of Ardvorlich old kirk of Dundurn just outside the village of St Fillans on the shores of Loch Earn. P. D. Garside of the University of Edinburgh"
"wish the fairies good morning or afternoon when passing over it. Other types of fairies are the (???) and the or ""Arc-Vuc-Soney"" ""Lucky-Boar-Pig"". An Irish folktale attributes the formation of the Isle of Man to Ireland's legendary hero Fionn mac Cumhaill (commonly anglicised to Finn McCool). Finn was in pursuit of a Scottish giant, and hoping to prevent his escape by swimming across the sea, scooped a huge mass of clay and rock from the land mass and hurled it; but he overshot, and the chunk of earth landed in the Irish Sea, thus creating the island. The hole he"
"of phraseology between them. The song is closely associated with the geographical area of the valley of the Yarrow Water that extends through the Scottish borders towards Selkirk. Almost all versions refer to this location, perhaps because the rhyming scheme for multiple verses, in most versions, relies on words which more or less rhyme with ""Yarrow"": ""marrow"", ""morrow"", ""sorrow"", ""thorough"", ""narrow"", ""arrow"" and ""yellow"" for example. The song is believed to be based on an actual incident. The hero of the ballad was a knight of great bravery, popularly believed to be John Scott, sixth son of the Laird of"
"Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Medieval Gaelic: '; modern Scottish Gaelic: '; Norman French: ' or '; Early Scots: ""Robert Brus""; ), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his generation, and eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent country and is today revered in Scotland as a national hero. Descended from the Anglo-Norman and Gaelic"
"sensibilities by altering the original characters and ideas and introduced a great deal of his own. Oisín Oisín (; anglicized as ) or , Osian, Ossian ( ), or Osheen was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, and is a warrior of the fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and of Sadhbh (daughter of Bodb Dearg), and is the narrator of much of the cycle and composition of the poems are attributed to him. His name literally means ""young deer"" or fawn, and the story"
"giants are held accountable for the creation of many stone formations, hills and ages-old megalithic structures (dolmens, etc.), with similar explanations provided in different spots. However, giants show different variants and forms, they are most frequently referred to as jentilak and mairuak, while as individuals they can be represented as Basajaun ('the lord of the forests'), Sanson (development of the biblical Samson), Errolan (based on the Frankish army general Roland who fell dead at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass) or even Tartalo (a one-eyed giant akin to the Greek Cyclops). In Bulgarian mythology, giants called ispolini inhabited the Earth before"
"Susanna Drury Susanna Drury, later Susanna Warter (c. 1698 – c. 1770) was an Irish painter. Though little is known of her life or work, she was very influential in the development of Irish landscape painting. She is chiefly noted for her watercolor drawings of the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, which brought international attention to the site. Drury was born around 1698. She was associated with the Dublin Society (later the Royal Dublin Society), which presented her with its first award, worth £25, in 1740 for her paintings of the Giant's Causeway. She had traveled to Ulster to observe"
"Rock, and Barnavave. The name ""Sliabh Feá"" means ""mountain of the woods"". Locally the name is understood as ""Sliabh Fathaigh"", ""mountain of the giant"", because its outline is said to resemble a sleeping giant. Local lore has it that the giant Finn, representing summer, stood on the mountain while fighting his rival Ruscaire, representing winter. Finn is said to have beaten Ruscaire by throwing a boulder across the lough at him, which became the Cloughmore (The Big Stone) on Slieve Martin. The mountain also appears in the ""Táin Bó Cúailnge"" (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The army of Queen Medb (Maeve)"