The Giant's Causeway is about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by a fissure eruption in the Paleocene, roughly 50 to 60 million years ago. Its Irish name, Clochan na bhFomhoraigh, means the stepping stones of the Fomorians, the mythical sea raiders.
Irish mythology attributes it to Fionn mac Cumhaill, who built a causeway to meet a Scottish giant across the sea. In the version told to visitors the Scottish giant is called Benandonner, and the tale involves a trick in which Fionn is disguised as a baby, so that the Scot, seeing the size of the child, flees and tears up the causeway behind him. Folklore Finder lists Fionn and the Causeway as separate entries in its County Antrim folklore.
The legend is real folk tradition, but the modern tourism retelling has crystallised a single storyline, and guidebooks and cultural marketing use it heavily. Features of the site such as the Giant's Boot and the Wishing Chair belong to the visitor trail.
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