Folklore & legend

Chicken Rock: the Buggane's Tooth

Also known as: Finn MacCooilley and the Buggane; Chickens Rock

Chicken Rock, south-west of the Calf of Man

Finn MacCooilley, the Irish giant, came over from the Mountains of Mourne and settled near Cregneash. The buggane who lived on Barrule heard about it and came to fight him. The first time, Finn's wife got rid of him by a trick, hiding Finn in the cradle as her baby and serving the buggane barley bread he could not eat, so that he went away thinking that if the baby was that big the father must be terrible.

They met properly at last at Kirk Christ Rushen and fought from dawn till sunset. Joe Moore said they changed the shape of the land doing it: Finn had one foot in the Big Sound and made the channel between the Calf and Kitterland, and the other foot made the narrow channel between Kitterland and the island.

The buggane won. Finn, who could walk on water, escaped towards Ireland, and the buggane, who could not, tore out one of his own teeth and threw it after him. It hit Finn and fell into the sea, and it is Chicken Rock. Finn cursed it, and said it would be a vexation to the sons of men while water runs and grass grows. Any sailor who has had to keep clear of it would agree.

Chicken Rock is a reef with a lighthouse off the Calf of Man; it can be seen from the Calf and from boat trips.
Evidence
Long-standing local tradition
Access
No public access
Location
54.038, -4.838 (Sited to the building or field)

Sources: Sophia Morrison, "Manx Fairy Tales" (1911), "Joe Moore's Story of Finn Maccooilley and the Buggane" (Manx Note Book transcription) [public-domain]

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