Following the footsteps of giants

Regardless of where you are in Ireland you’re only a megalithic stone’s throw from a landmark of some historic significance, and such is the case in Cavan.

There’s a few Breffni beauty spots mottled with ancient backstories that help lengthen the stride. If you check out ThisisCavan.ie you will find helpful maps and guides to an array of walks for all abilities.

A lesser known walk is the Castletara Millennium trail that includes Shantemon mountain (really a hill) and at its summit, Fingerstones (really Fingerstones). Folklore has it that they are the hand of the mighty giant Fionn mac Cumhaill, or Finn McCool.

Intrigued by the yarn, on a whim one afternoon, I decided to explore. I was joined by my wife Frances, mother-in-law Sheila, and kids Oscar (3) and Sonny (1), and we were woefully unprepared.

At a loose end the adults came along for the ride; the kids came along because they were seatbelted in, and had no idea where they were going. Truth be told, other than heading out the Cootehill Road from Cavan, the adults didn’t know either. It’s very poorly signposted, and the phone reception amidst the drumlins is Google Map defeating, so it would be a good idea to plan your route first. Knowing we were generally in the right vicinity we followed a number of different roads until happening upon a welcome marker.

Here the trail is outlined with seven sites of interest: Mass Rock in Corratober, the Druid’s Well; the vitrified Fort on Shantemon Mountain; Castletara Church; the graveyard (which is actually one of 30 circular forts of lios within view of Castletara); the sculpted head of a druid (more on which later); and of course the Fingerstones national monument.

The sign makes no mention of Finn McCool, rather it points out that the Fingerstones have been a place of worship for the Celts, where they celebrated the major festivals, going back over 4,000 years.

With kids in tow we had modest ambitions, so limited our walk to just the Fingerstones, but the Millennium Trail is much longer. A colleague spent four hours trekking with a walking group in Castletara last year.

The day we set seemed to be August’s solitary sunny day, but the downpours of the previous weeks left the ground sodden with puddles to be negotiated. We rued our choice of footwear as I laboured with Sonny in a stroller on a trail that’s in need of a little TLC.

After a few hundred metres, the track forks into two options. There’s no signpost, but take the narrow gritted trail to your right that climbs up a reasonably steep incline. Here we ditched the stroller and I carried Sonny the few hundred metres to the top. Oscar hastened up the trek eager to see the giant’s hand, and he wasn’t disappointed.

At the top the narrow path opens up to a small clearing in a giant conifer plantation where upon the stones take centre stage. According to a Facebook page dedicated to the Fingerstones the site was of such significance that the Ó Raghallaigh clan held inauguration ceremonies for their chieftains at a stone called Cois an tSiorragh. The location makes sense, not just because of the spiritual significance, but presumably in those days the elevated vantage point would have afforded a breath taking vista of the kingdom over which the new chieftan would rule. Now with the mature sitka trees, it’s as if the hand is reaching out of a dark green sleeve that’s too big for the giant.

The enormous stones are perfectly aligned and run as you would expect with a smaller stone for the thumb and the middle finger the tallest - in fact it’s over six foot and apparently weighs four tonne. It must have taken some serious cajoling to get these digits into place, and God knows where they sourced them from.

The walk back down is much easier to negotiate, and doesn’t seem half as long.

We rounded off the short adventure by calling into nearby Castletara church. Above the door at what would have been its exterior wall at one point is the sculpted stone head of a druid. The information board explains that the Celts thought the head contained the soul and could function without a body.

Found in sacred sites across the island, the head is also thought to be a protector. Whoever sculpted this head was certainly no Michaelangelo, but in its simplicity s/he still imbued it with power.

For an hour’s distraction it was well worth the jaunt, and the rest of the trail is now on my to-do list, along with buying a pair of walking boots.