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O'BRIEN’S
TOWER – CLIFFS
OF MOHER
Tourist Castle Tower of Cornelius O’Brien
It
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.
Today
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. 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’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
IRELAND IN MOVIES - FILM LOCATIONS
DRIVING IRELAND - SCENIC ROUTES
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