What have the last king of Brazil, the Giant’s Causeway and football got in common?
Well, Ulster tourist chiefs are hoping it’s more than at first meets the eye! And the link could be about to spark a mini invasion of South American visitors to Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction on the North Antrim coast. It seems that the last King of Brazil, Dom Pedro II, visited the Causeway in 1877, according to a leading official of the Milk Cup international football tournament. “You never really stop to think how popular the Giant’s Causeway was with international visitors in past centuries,” says the chairman of the youth event, Victor Leonard. “I suppose many of us take it for granted today but for the well-to-do who had the finances to travel the world hundreds of years ago, the Causeway was also a must see destination. “We have been told by a source close to the Brazilian Football Federation that the country’s last king came here to see the world famous stones in the later part of the 19th century and that in itself seems to have sparked considerable interest in Braz
