The largest lake in the British Isles has two origin stories. One, from medieval Irish literature, is told in the next record. The other, a folk tale, credits the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn McCool.
In this version Finn was chasing or quarrelling with a Scottish or English giant who was retreating over the sea. He tore up a huge handful of earth from the ground and flung it after him. The clod missed and fell into the Irish Sea, where it became the Isle of Man. The pit it left behind filled with water and became Lough Neagh.
Wikipedia and the Irish Times both give this as the best known folk account, as one of many stories in which Finn shapes the landscape of Ulster, alongside the Giant's Causeway. It is a place-making tale of the kind told about lakes and hills, and it is sometimes drawn on by tourism writing, which is why the tradition needs to be told with care.
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