Cliffs Of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher is cliffs of the ruin, also known as the Cliffs of Mohair, are located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of the Burren area near Doolin, which is located in County Clare, Ireland.

The cliffs rise 120 meters (390 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head (Irish: Ceann na Cailleach), and reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres away. The views from the cliffs attract close to one million visitors per year. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara.

O'Brien's Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Ireland's High King Brian Boru, in order to impress female visitors. From atop that watchtower, visitors can view the Aran Islands and Galway Bay, the Maum Turk Mountains and theTwelve Pins to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south.

The cliffs take their name from an old fort that once stood on Hag's Head, the most southern point of the Cliffs. The writer T.J. Westropp refers to it as Moher ui Ruis or Moher ui Ruidhin. The fort still stood in 1780 and is mentioned in an account from John Lloyd's a Short Tour Of Clare (1780). The field where the fort stood is still called Moher a Thairbh. The present tower built near the site of the old Moher ui Ruidhin was built as a lookout tower during the Napoleonic wars.

The cliffs consist mainly of beds of Namurian shale and sandstone, with the oldest rocks being found at the bottom of the cliffs. It is possible to see 300 million year-old river channels cutting through, forming unconformities at the base of the cliffs.

There are many animals living on the cliffs. Most of these are birds, with an estimated 30,000 birds, representing more than 20 species. These include Atlantic Puffins, which live in large colonies at isolated parts of the cliffs and on the small Goat Island. Also present are hawks, gulls, guillemots, shags,ravens and many more.