Giant's Causeway

Let the Causeway be Vast

Let the water be flowing

Let every curious thought inside me find its home and guide me lightly,

calmly toward this world

I have a story I have never told:

Once, when I was lost, I looked up at the Causeway and saw the endless mountains and knew

I was a small seed made to blossom

I am still a small seed made to blossom

A large part of Irish culture is the storytelling and legends. The legend of the Giant's Causeway states that an Irish giant named Fionn mac Cumhaill was challenged to fight against a Scottish giant. He built the Causeway so the two could meet up to fight. When Fionn saw how big the Scottish giant was, he hid in his babies crib. The Scottish giant saw the 'baby' in the crib and assumed that the father must be much larger, so he fled back to Scotland, destroying the Causeway on the way. The Causeway now represents the division between Ireland and Scotland. Learning the legend of the Causeway was crucial in my study abroad course to understanding the importance of legends and storytelling in Ireland. During my visit, we were given recording devices to listen to that shared information on the Causeway as we walked along it, furthering my understanding of its significance. For a poem assignment in class, I chose to write mine about the Giant's Causeway. The reasoning behind this was the feeling that the Causeway evoked for me. Sitting in the very center of the rocks, I was able to look to my right and see endless ocean, while looking to my left I could see endless mountains. I felt a moment of understanding and peace, feeling like the world was my larger than me. Learning the story of the space helped me make meaning and sense of the place.