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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for unusual destinations,
holiday travel tips and secret spots missed by travel tours.




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O'BRIEN’S TOWER – CLIFFS OF MOHER
Tourist Castle Tower of Cornelius O’Brien

O'Briens Tower Overlooking Cliffs of Moher photoIt is the prime photo spot of the famous cliffs on the west of Ireland. O’Brien’s Tower, built in 1835 serves as frame for poses of the stream of strolling cliff oglers and observation point to look down to the giant waves. Not precisely a castle, but one of the world’s first purpose built tourist castle towers named for Cornelius O’Brien, a descendent of the first High King of Ireland, Brian Boru and one of the long line of O’Brien clan who controlled much of Clare and the west counties (see Bunratty Castle and Folk Park ). O’Brien owned the lands bordered by the amazing cliffs which drop in sheer magnificence to the roiling sea below and built the tower which bears his family name and crest.

O'Briens Slate Fench at Moher Cliffs photoToday a visitor to the Cliffs of Moher will first encounter the flagstone fences which guard the cliff edge with warning signs not to climb over to the grassy ledge. These fences were not the result of some government safety program, but the result of a wager among landlords. The legendary story goes that O’Brien won a bet with a neighboring landowner that he could construct a wall “six foot high and one inch thick” over a certain distance. The lesson being, never take a fool’s bet. Utilizing the local Liscannor slate flagstones which nearly sprout from the surrounding Burren, he won the wager and the resulting flag fences still stand along the cliff edge (see The Burren). The idea was so impressive, the flat and solid flagstones were quickly gathered as building material and floor coverings in farmhouses in the 19th century all around Ireland. O’Brien also set up a circular stone table on the sandstone ledge of the cliff to entertain guests who came to see his fence, and more to the point, the cliffs. But with so many curious flocking to the view, the table just wasn’t enough.

O’Brien’s Tower stands at nearly the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher at 214 meters above the sea at Knockardakin. It was built by O’Brien specifically as an observation deck for the tourism visitors O’Brien believed could boost the local impoverished economy. The tower originally included four separate sections, but over the ravages of time, salt and sea wind, only the tower and connecting archway remain, restored in 1970. The O’Brien family crest over the arch was added later. When it is open the tower can be climbed for a viewing point for the cliffs and the Aran Islands. On a clear day the view from the tower surveys from the coast of Connemara to the north, across Galway Bay and the Clare coastline to Loop Head and the Atlantic beyond, and to the mountains of Kerry to the south. Even when the tower is closed the arch way attracts photographers and visitors for the “Kodak Moment”.

O'Brieans Tower Archway Pose spot photoO’Brien’s passion for building didn’t stop with his bet winning fence and tourists tower. He’s responsible for many of the stonework landmarks in County Clare from the mid-19th century, including the bridge over the Inagh River near Liscannor, St Bridgid’s Well and the St Brigid's National School. A local saying of O’Brien was ‘he built everything around here except the cliffs’. Cornelius O’Brien died in 1857 and is buried in the O’Brien Vault in the graveyard which adjoins St. Brigid's Well.

Visiting O’Brien’s Tower

O’Brien’s Tower is free to visit, as are the Cliffs of Moher, sort of. While walking around the cliffs monument does not take an entrance fee, there is a charge for parking in the visitors lot and for entrance to the visitors center (see Cliffs of Moher). The tower is open to climb at the discretion of the administrators, depending on weather. But a photo in the archway is near unavoidable. © Bargain Travel Europe

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Cliffs of Moher

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SEE ALSO:

DUNGUAIRE CASTLE - MEDIEVAL BANQUETS

BUNRATTY CASTLE & FOLF PARK

IRISH CULTURAL HERITAGE PASS

IRELAND IN MOVIES - FILM LOCATIONS

DRIVING IRELAND - SCENIC ROUTES

IRELAND COASTAL HOLIDAY COTTAGES