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Final effort to Trap votes for the Cliffs


IRELAND soccer manager Giovanni Trapattoni will visit the Cliffs of Moher this Friday to support its bid for designation as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

There are just two weeks left to vote for the Cliffs in the competition which sees it pitted against 27 other locations worldwide to be named one of the new seven wonders of nature, a title which many believe could bring tens of thousands of additional tourists to the region each year.
Mr Trapattoni had been due to visit the attraction back in July but a Football Association of Ireland press conference planned for the landmark was moved to Ennistymon because of industrial action at the Cliffs.
“What this visit shows is the level of support out there for Ireland to have one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The FAI have been fantastic from the outset. They leant their support early on. Giovanni Trapattoni tried to come in July but due to circumstances at the time, he couldn’t make it and the FAI is now honouring a commitment made that he would come back to the Cliffs before voting concludes,” explained Ger Dollard, director of the company that runs the visitor centre.
“Linked with where we are in the European Championship qualifiers, it is great to have the personal support of someone like Giovanni Trapattoni,” he continued.
Mr Dollard urged people to vote for the Cliffs before the November 11 deadline.
“There is only two weeks left and if we have a big push for the final 14 days, who knows what impact that will have and it would be great for the region to get this. The bottom line though is that it is down to votes,” he said.
Last week, Taoiseach Enda Kenny endorsed the Cliffs’ campaign to become one of the New 7 Wonders and INTO president, Noirin Flynn travelled to the Cliffs with children from Liscannor National School to show her support.
Other high-profile figures who have urged people to vote for the Cliffs in the international competition are singer, Maura O’Connell, film director, Jim Sheridan, former world heavy-weight boxing champion, Barry McGuigan as well as businessman, commentator and former politician, Ivan Yates.
All seven presidential candidates have also shown their support for the Clare location. On recent visits to County Clare, many of the candidates have incorporated a visit to the Cliffs of Moher as part of their itinerary and have expressed their strong support to see the Cliffs make it onto the global listing of the new 7 Wonders of Nature. 
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s election, Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes, commented, “We very much welcome the support of all of the presidential candidates for the Cliffs of Moher. It is the only Irish entry in this worldwide competition and has done tremendously well to make the shortlist from the initial 440 sites that competed. We have been mounting a very strong campaign to secure one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature for Ireland and I am delighted that the next President has given full backing to the Cliffs of Moher to achieve that aim.  I think this support underlines the importance that the future President attaches to Ireland being represented in the official list of the global new seven wonders of nature. The Cliffs of Moher is an icon of Ireland and I would urge everybody to support the Cliffs of Moher in the final 18 days of the campaign”.
IT Tralee also backed the campaign recently after the chairman of the college’s governing body, Inagh man, Flan Garvey along with Ennis Town Councillor Peter Considine and Harriet Cotter from Enterprise Ireland put it to their fellow board members.
“There was tremendous support from the people of Kerry for this. The backing of IT Tralee means that an email with information on voting for the Cliffs of Moher to become one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature was sent out to more than 4,500 staff and students, the majority of whom are from outside of the county. They will also pass the information onto their friends and relatives as well, which will mean even more votes,” Mr Garvey told The Clare Champion.
The final selection of the new 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by the numbers of votes cast for each of the 28 finalists. 
Members of the public can vote either online at www.new7wonders.com or text MOHER to 53131 (texts cost 30c each). Voting in the competition closes at 11.11 am on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11).

 

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