O'Brien's Tower - County Clare, Ireland
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 52° 58.378 W 009° 25.816
29U E 471106 N 5869349
Historic lookout tower at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland.
Waymark Code: WMAKD5
Location: Munster, Ireland
Date Posted: 01/24/2011
Views: 32
"O'Brien's Tower marks the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland, located a short distance from the village Doolin, famous for its traditional Irish music. The tower is also near Liscannor a coastal village famous for its slate flagstones which were used for fencing purposes.
The tower was built on the cliffs in 1835 by local landlord Sir Cornellius O'Brien as an observation tower for the hundreds of Victorian tourists that frequented the cliffs at 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, the Twelve Bens in Connemara (also known as the Twelve Pins) beyond Galway Bay can be seen, 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 in the area except the cliffs." - Wikipedia
The tower is open the public. Admission to the tower is €2.00