Volcanic event, not giant Finn McCool, formed Giant's Causeway, scientists find

For centuries, folklore has attributed the creation of Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway to the legendary Irish giant Finn McCool. The tale describes McCool building the basalt columns to cross to Scotland and fight his rival, Benandonner. However, recent scientific findings reveal a much more dramatic, geological origin.

Scientists have determined that intense volcanic activity, part of a "major globally impacting volcanic event," formed the distinctive interlocking basalt columns approximately 60 million years ago. This geological process spanned 5.5 million years, a duration significantly shorter than previously estimated. The research also established a direct link between the lava flows that created the Giant's Causeway and those forming Fingal's Cave on the Scottish island of Staffa, rocks previously believed to have formed millions of years apart.

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Fundamentally, what we’ve done is by piecing together this tapestry of volcanic rocks all across the North Atlantic, but focusing on Northern Ireland, we have been able to reassess a major globally impacting volcanic event.

This new timeline and the connection to a wider geological event, evidenced by volcanic rocks found as far away as Greenland, place the Giant's Causeway within a more precise global context. The findings also link formations in the Mourne Mountains and the Scottish isle of Rùm to the same volcanic activity. While the legend of Finn McCool offers a captivating narrative for visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage site, scientific evidence now points to the raw power of Earth's geological forces as the true architect of this natural wonder.

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In doing that, and in reassessing the timescales, we have shown that actually it occurred in a much shorter duration.