Teach Through Educational Travel: The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are an extraordinary natural formation of sheer cliffs dropping down into the Atlantic Ocean – and Ireland’s most visited attraction. The Cliffs are located on the west coast of County Clare; the nearest town is Doolin. The Cliffs rise up 214 meters, at their highest point, and run about 8 km along the coast. The Cliffs are populated by Ireland’s largest seabird nesting colony (over 30,000 pairs), and is also a UNESCO Geo Park. If you take a boat trip to see the Cliffs from the sea, you’ll definitely see evidence of birds! From land on a clear day, you can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, the Twelve Pins, the Maum Turk Mountains, and Loop Head. The Cliffs of Moher were so named more recently than you’d imagine. The name comes from the ruined fort Mothar, which was torn down during the Napoleonic wars (in 1808) to create space and provide materials for a military signal tower.O’Brien’s Tower (built in 1835) is located near the apex of the Cliffs of Moher. It’s not really an old, decrepit, well-worn battle-used castle, as you may think. It was built in 1835 as an observation platform to better see the Cliffs, by Cornelius O’Brien.