Tag Archives: Cliffs of Moher

CLARE county councillors will be asked to support a proposed upgrading of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Car Park, despite a claim this it is contrary to a previous Bord Pleanála ruling. In a report prepared for councillors for the adjourned meeting last Monday, deputy chief executive Ger Dollard recommended that the council proceed with the works as outlined, subject to a number of conditions outlined in a local authority planning report. “The effect of the works will be to upgrade the existing car park at the Cliffs of Moher from its temporary construction state to the standard expected in a car-parking facility and which serves the second most visited tourist attraction in Ireland. “Subject to tendering process and funding arrangements, it is unlikely that works will proceed until late 2017 at the earliest,” he stated. It is expected that councillors will decide to accept, reject or adjourn a decision on this Part Eight planning application when they reconvene next …

A TOURISM Ireland campaign is under way in The Daily Telegraph showcasing the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland to British holidaymakers. The campaign includes a series of articles about Ireland in the Saturday travel section of The Daily Telegraph, which has readership of 1.4 million people across Britain. An article Be a wild rover along Ireland’s dramatic coast, highlights the Wild Atlantic Way and “the towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, where you can stare west across to the Aran Islands”. The campaign also includes a specially-created ‘Indulge in Ireland’ hub on The Telegraph website. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Our partnership with The Daily Telegraph is another excellent opportunity to highlight Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way. Tourism Ireland is actively promoting longer-stay holidays and encouraging British travellers to come and discover Ireland by car. Visitors who use a car on holidays tend to stay longer, spend more and are more likely to visit more than one region.”

B&B Ireland say their bookings in Clare rose 14% last year, and overseas visitors were up 18% – beating the national increase of 10% in overseas visitors. “We have launched a campaign across the county to recruit more B&B owners to meet the demand”, said local B&B Ireland member Michael Webb. Mr Webb says booking revenue into Clare, for the first quarter between January and March, is up 10%, which further reinforces the demand for B&B properties here. “B&B Ireland alone had over 10,500 bookings in the county last year – that’s up over 1,000 bookings on the year before”, says Michael, who’s the owner of the 4 star Glocca Morra B&B, in Killaloe. Michael attributed the phenomenal success of 2016 to a combination of factors. “There is a major increase of USA visitors due to the favourable exchange rate; flying into Shannon Airport as opposed to Dublin Airport is much easier and is the gateway to the West of Ireland. There is also a …

It was a bad weekend for accidents in County Clare, in one case a precision parachute jump going astray and resulting in a fatality, and the other involving a serious car crash. The parachute jump incident occurred on Saturday at the Aill Na Searrach section of the Cliffs of Moher. Three men went to the sport to undertake a ‘base jump’, when people jump from a fixed structure or cliff wearing a parachute or wingsuit. The first man completed a safe jump but there was a tragic outcome for the second jumper whose parachute failed. The Irish Coast Guard was alerted, while an ambulance, rapid response advanced paramedic unit and gardaí responded to the scene . With good sea conditions, the Doolin Coast Guard craft was able to get close enough to the cliff base to allow three members make their way ashore. The Shannon-based rescue helicopter winched a crew member on the shore below. The man was airlifted onto …

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience attracted a record 1,427,166 people during 2016, representing a 14% increase on the previous year. Fully Independent Travellers (FIT) visitors, including walkers, cyclists and those travelling by car or public transport, grew at a rate of 13.5% while group visitors grew by 15%. The greatest growth recorded at the world-famous visitor attraction came in the shoulder and low season with visitor numbers for December up 52% on the same month in 2015. The Clare County Council owned Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has undergone substantial investment in product and facilities in recent years while the launch of the 12km Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk and the visitor attractions’ status as a Signature Point along the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way has contributed to its growing popularity.

CLARE County Council director of service Ger Dollard has identified the concurrent arrival of buses at the Cliffs of Moher as a key contributor to subsequent long queues outside toilets. More than one million people visit the cliffs annually but many appear to arrive in urgent need of locating an empty toilet. At a West Clare Municipal District meeting, Councillor Gabriel Keating said that interminable toilet queues are “causing inconvenience” for visitors. In reply, Mr Dollard said that queues can sometimes reach 100 deep and suggested that all buses should have on-board facilities in an effort to offset the need to immediately rush to the toilet, upon disembarking at the Cliffs of Moher. “The arrival of two buses simultaneously could result in over 100 people wishing to use the toilet facility,” he calculated. “In such a scenario, it is not possible to provide a level of toilet facilities that would eliminate entirely queues for the use of these facilities. It …

A post mortem is due to be carried out today on the body of a woman taken from the sea near the Cliffs of Moher yesterday evening. Emergency services were alerted at around 5pm when walkers on the cliff trail spotted the body in the water near O’Brien’s Tower. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard launched their rescue boat and made their way to the scene and made a successful recovery at around 6.15pm. The woman’s remains were brought back to their boathouse in Doolin and later removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post mortem examination is expected to be carried out later today.

UP to €20,000 is believed to have been taken in a robbery from the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre between 10pm on Sunday night and 9am on Monday morning. It is believed that power cables were cut to the centre which rendered the security system obsolete. The centre was closed for a period on Monday to allow ESB Networks to restore power to the centre. The Cliffs of Moher is the second most visited tourism attraction in Ireland. Gardai in Ennistymon are investigating and are appealing for information from anybody who witnessed suspicious activity in the area on Sunday night or Monday morning.