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 Birds that like to visit IrelandDid you know that thousands of birds from other countries migrate to Ireland throughout the year? The arrival of these feathered tourists can be observed in April and May all along the south coast. In summer The cliffs of the west of Ireland are the ideal place for large sea bird colonies such as puffins and gannets. And in autumn, we have many rare American waders - mainly sandpipers and plovers - who arrive here when blown across the Atlantic. In winter, lakes, estuaries and wetlands are a haven for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl from the Arctic and Northern Europe. From Greenland, Iceland and Canada come waders such as knot, golden plover and black-tailed godwit, flocks of brent, barnacle and white-fronted geese, as well as thousands of whooper swans.
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| All contents copyright © 2001 through 2011 inclusive - all rights reserved. March 4, 2011 |
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What caused the Giants Causeway? Scientists say that millions of years ago, there were huge volcanic eruptions and after they were over, thousands of strange-looking columns appeared on the coast of Co. Antrim. Is that really what happened? The Seanchai*, or Irish story-teller, has a far different tale to tell.
It's said that the Causeway was built by a gentle giant, Fionn MacCumhain, or Finn McCool. Even legend, though, has its contrasting accounts. In one tale, Finn was said to be in love with a lady giant who lived on the Scottish island of Staffa, and that he built the Causeway in order to safely bring her home to Ireland. In fact, there's a similar though smaller collection of the strange columns on Staffa's coastline, and geographically, Ireland and Scotland were once much closer than they are today.
The other legend says that Finn built the Causeway due to an ongoing argument with a Scottish giant named Benandonner who could not swim. In an argument one day, while they were shouting at each other over the Sea of Moyle, Finn took a clump of earth and flung it at his enemy. The land fell in the sea and became the 
Isle of Man, while the huge hole left in Ireland became Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles.
Oonagh was Finn’s wife. When she heard the sound of thunderous footsteps, she knew it was Brenandonner come to fight Finn. Oonagh took one look at the gigantic visitor on her doorstep and realised this was a battle Finn could never win. She threw a blanket over her sleeping husband and stuck a bonnet on his head. There was no possible way Finn could defeat Benandonner for he was too small.
The other story says that Benandonner had arranged to fight Finn but when he got to Finn's house , Finn's wife said he had been delayed. To pass the time, the Scottish giant decided to play with the baby (who was actually Finn in disguise). Finn promptly bit off Bennandonner's magic middle finger. Finn knew that this would cause caused the Scottish giant to lose his strength. Brenandonner roared in pain and when he saw that his magic middle ginger was gone he ran back to Scotland, howling, never to be seen in Antrim again.
