Safety improvement works are under way at the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walking trail in Co Clare this week, while sections of the route may be closed in the coming days in response to health and safety fears raised in the wake of recent tragic deaths there.
Specific concerns have been expressed around the 14-kilometre Cliff Edge walking route linking the villages of Doolin and Liscannor to Clare's world famous tourist attraction.
Clare Local Development Company, which manages the walking trail, has confirmed immediate works and the possibility of imminent closures to improve safety this evening, in response to a report on RTÉ Drivetime.
The report comes two weeks after the death of a 12-year-old boy who went missing after becoming separated from his family while visiting the cliffs.
His death came less than three months after an incident in which a visiting student in her early 20s fell to her death having reportedly lost her footing while walking with friends along the cliffs in May.
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While the exact circumstances surrounding those deaths have yet to be confirmed, Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway, who is from the nearby town of Ennistymon, has called for a health and safety audit of the 14km trail.
"The last thing we want," he told RTÉ’s Drivetime, "is to be advertising the beautiful walk we have and at the same time having concerns for its safety".
With visitor numbers to the Cliffs of Moher reaching as high as 1.6m in 2019, and thousands attending the site daily as post pandemic numbers rise, Mr Conway said they are coming "from the four corners of the world".
He said as a result visitors speak many different languages and called for more signage, as well as a multilingual mobile app messaging to alert people of the potential dangers along the Coastal Walk.
It is "easy to get confused," he said, "between the official Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience site and when you walk on to the more rugged Cliffs of Moher walk".
The 14km trail runs through the farms of 38 local landowners, including Pat Sweeney who grew up along the Cliffs of Moher and now runs Doolin Cliff Walks, leading guided tours along the north side of the trail.
While he and other locals were "shocked and saddened" by recent tragedies, he said the walk is only "dangerous if you stray off the official trail" paths.
"A lot of the official trail has been upgraded" recently he said, with extra drainage, widening and barriers, but "when visitors stray off the official trail, that’s where the problems lie".
'Instagram-worthy photographs' a major safety hazard
The Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walking route is managed by the Clare Local Development Company, while Clare County Council is responsible for management and public safety of the 800m section of the walk at the Cliffs of Moher Experience site.
A Draft Masterplan for the future development of facilities at the Cliffs, published by the council last year, outlines the need for a complete overhaul of facilities at the visitor attraction.
"Over the past ten years, visitor numbers have far exceeded those which the site was originally designed to cater for. This has significant negative impacts," it states.
The Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 also states that "the paths beyond the visitor experience are considered to be a major safety hazard due to their proximity to the unstable cliff-edge and unpredictable weather conditions".
It adds that "visitors rarely heed the warnings in situ and try to get as close to the edge as possible to take Instagram-worthy photographs".
Most of the visiting tourists who spoke to RTÉ's Drivetime said they observed the warning signs but some accepted they did not feel safe as they left official paths to take selfies close to the Cliff edge.
One tourist from Malaysia said she was "panicking, just for a few seconds" to get a perfect photograph, while another from the Netherlands said she "was tempted to take the perfect selfie for Instagram and social media" but had been advised by her tour-guide that "it’s very dangerous, people have died here".
The Cliff Trail is "beautiful and is safe if you obey the rules" she added, "but I think a lot of people are not aware of that".
A number of visitors from the USA noted the "potential danger" and "slippery" conditions in places but said the path was safe overall with one suggesting she has seen visitors to major attractions like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park taking similar risks and going "beyond the infrastructure" to take pictures.
Additional Safety Measures Announced
In response to questions raised by RTÉ, the CLDC said "the Cliffs of Moher trail is safe for walkers, provided they stay on the official trail. However, there is a safety risk where walkers leave the official trail and walk onto old pathways which are closer to the cliff edge".
In a written statement, CLDC Chief Executive Doirin Graham confirmed that body and the local authority are "currently putting additional safety measures in place at points where walkers are more likely to leave the official trail, which will be completed this week.
"Where it is not possible to undertake this additional work with landowner agreement, sections of the trail will be closed in the coming days."
Ms Graham’s statement said funding has been secured from the Government to upgrade sections of the trail and improve safety later this year, outlining how "over the past ten months, CLDC, Clare County Council, Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development have been working together to develop an agreed management plan for the Cliffs of Moher trail.
"This has involved extensive consultation with the 38 landowners who own the trail. The plan will be completed by the end of 2024 and will be implemented from 2025, subject to landowner agreement".
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Clare County Council said their responsibility is "for management and public safety of the 800m section of the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk at the Cliffs of Moher Experience site".
The statement added that the local authority is "committed to providing assistance requested in relation to the remainder of the 14km walking route, including the introduction of additional safety measures."
