Fionn mac Cumhaill-Legend or Truth?

Since I have so many gorgeous pictures of our incredible Irish Life Experience students from our excursion up North on Thursday, I decided to treat you to three separate posts. After our fantastic tour of Belfast, we headed even further north along the Antrim Coast. Another hour and a half on the road, before we arrived at the Giant's Causeway. Here enjoyed our packed lunch in each other's company. The weather was in our favor, as once again the clouds pushed away and the sun warmed our cheeks. I think the 2010 ILE'ers are our good luck weather charms. On full stomachs, we watched an audio visual on the history of the Causeway and let our food digest, before we went exploring and hiking, with our fearless leader-Angie guiding the way. The Giant's Causeway is an area of roughly 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. 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 columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 36 feet high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 70 feet thick in places. Some 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleogene period, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive lava plateau. As the lava cooled rapidly, contraction occurred. While contraction in the vertical direction reduced the flow thickness, horizontal contraction could only be accommodated by cracking throughout the flow. The size of the columns is primarily determined by the speed at which lava from a volcanic eruption cools. 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. While many people believe the geological interpretation of how the Giant's Causeway was formed, Angie prefers the legend instead. It is said that Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the Causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. After seeing Benandonner's great bulk, Fionn asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. When Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn. See..., isn't the legend much more entertaining? The ILE soaked in all of the gorgeous views at the Giant's Causeway and many said it was their favorite place thus far. We took many pictures by the Organ, Giant's Boot, Giant's Eyes, and the Shepherd's Steps. Enjoy!

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