O'Brien's Tower

O'Brien's Tower marks the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher, located a short distance from the village Doolin, famous for its traditional Irish music. The tower is also near Liscannor a coastal village in County Clare, Republic of Ireland which is famous for its slate flagstones which were used at the time for fencing purposes.

History

The tower was built on the Cliffs of Moher in 1835 by local landlord Sir Cornellius O'Brien as an observation tower for the hundreds of Victorian tourists that frequented the cliffs during the time. On a clear day the view can extend as far as Loop Head at the southern tip of Clare and beyond to the mountains of Kerry. Looking north from O'Briens Tower, on clear days, you can see the Twelve Bens in Connemara (also known as the Twelve Pins) beyond Galway Bay, and typically the Aran Islands to the west.

Folklore holds that Sir Cornellius O'Brien was a man ahead of his time, believing that the development of tourism would benefit the local economy and bring people out of poverty. O'Brien also built a wall of Moher flagstones along the Cliffs and it is said in the locality that he built everything around here except the Cliffs. He died in 1857 and his remains lie in the O'Brien vault in the graveyard adjoining St Brigid’s Well.

Reference

Portrait of Ireland: Landscapes, Treasures, Traditions (Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides), August 1, 2000, ISBN-10: 078946361X

External links

• Irish Coast Guard Doolin Unit
• The Cliffs of Moher and Burren Landscape
• The Cliffs of Moher and O'Brien's Tower
• Cliffs of Moher on Summitpost.org