Marathon session marks Brigid’s Day at the Cliffs

Almost 500 local visitors made their way to The Cliffs of Moher on Monday to take part in St Brigid’s Day festivities. The first day of spring is an important day for the area, especially this year, as the first ever Cliffs of Moher Marathon was launched.
The half marathon will take place in September 2010 between Doolin and Lahinch and is expected to draw as many as 1,200 participants in its inaugural year.
Representatives of the Clare Crusaders, Special Olympics Ireland and St Vincent de Paul, who are among the charities who will benefit from the event, attended the launch along with representatives from the Clare Sports Partnership and the Clare Tourism Forum who, together with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, have worked with Feel Good Events, the race organiser, to bring the run to North Clare. Organisers are hoping it will become an annual event.  
At Monday’s open day, the visitors enjoyed a programme of events that celebrated St Brigid’s day and local Clare crafts and traditions. Liscannor National School provided St Brigid’s crosses and Bridóg dolls that decorated the visitor centre.
An art exhibition, Under the Moher Sky, by Liscannor woman Bríd Harhen was opened by Councillor Richard Nagle and, while sales of Brid’s vibrant paintings were swift on the day, most of the purchasers have agreed to leave the pieces in place for the remainder of the exhibition which will run throughout February in the Atlantic Edge exhibition area at the visitor centre. A number of the artist’s family and friends joined the crowd on the day to admire the collection.
Another painting entitled Hope for Haiti by French artist Michel Rian was bought by Lahinch resident Laura White with the proceeds going to the Haiti Disaster Relief fund.
A number of local organisations set up stands in the visitor centre showcasing their products or services including Seed Savers’ Association, Vivienne Campbell’s local herbal remedies, the Ennis Book Club and the Clare Tourism Forum.
Visitors and locals alike participated in St Brigid’s Cross-weaving demonstrations. Benny the Busker performed in the morning and in the afternoon visitors were treated to a set-dancing exhibition by the Lissycasey Set Dancers.
Cliffs of Moher Rangers performed guided tours of the cliff edge and a dramatic reading was performed to promote the Ennis Book Club Festival. 
Visitors who had not yet done so were encouraged to vote for Cliffs of Moher in the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign which runs through to 2011 and also to cast a vote for a chocolate wrapper designed with the Cliffs of Moher in chocolate as part of the Cadbury’s Apprentice promotion to find a winning design for their Dairy Milk chocolate bar.
“The St Brigid’s Day festivities mark an important date in our calendar here at the Cliffs of Moher,” said director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, Katherine Webster.
“It is almost exactly three years since the new visitor centre opened and it’s wonderful to see the local community here enjoying the amenities. 2009 was a very challenging year with visitor numbers falling by 6% to 763,758. However, in the context of a year where overseas visitors to the Ireland fell by 12%, this shows that the Cliffs of Moher are still performing above average and we are confident that we can do likewise in 2010.”