In Ireland, it can feel like there’s a myth on every mountain, a story in every field and a legend wrapped around every lake, river and stream. A myriad of entertaining Celtic stories can all be brought to life by locals and talented storytellers alike, and at the drop of a hat they will paint you word pictures of epic tales, magical feats and characters full of courage and passion.
One of the standout places where it all comes together is the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim, with its very name deriving from ancient stories of a conflict between the Irish hero Finn McCool and his Scottish rival Benandonner.
Some say the astonishing 40,000 hexagon rocks at the Causeway were carved as stepping stones to Scotland by the mighty Finn McCool so the rivals could set up a fight. Certainly, clues as to Finn’s existence are left behind in rock formations such as the Giant’s Boot, the Wishing Chair and the Giant’s Granny, not to mention the iconic stones themselves.
In Irish mythology the Tuatha De Danann (People of the Goddess Danu) were a race of deities and heroes, skilled in art, science, poetry and magic. One of the places they are associated with is the ancient Grianán of Aileach, a stone fort that still stands on a hilltop in Inishowen, County Donegal.
The fortress was built on the site of a former Tuatha de Danann palace, which legend says was called the Palace of the Northern Princes. The views from Aileach are breathtaking, and it is even thought that St Patrick visited the site in the fifth century to baptise the local chieftain, Eoghan, from whom Inishowen gets its name.