O'Brien's Tower marks the highest point of the

Cliffs of Moher The Cliffs of Moher (; ) are sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. They run for about . At their southern end, they rise above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and, to the north, the ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is located a short distance from the villages

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in ...

and

Liscannor Liscannor () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located between Lahinch and Doolin, close to the Cliffs of Moher. As of the 2022 census it had a population of 135. Geography Lying on the west coast of Ireland, on Liscan ...

History

The tower was built on the cliffs in 1835 by local landlord and MP Cornelius O'Brien as an observation tower for the tourists who frequented the cliffs at the time: "strangers visiting the Magnificent Scenery of this neighbourhood". It is said to have initially served as a teahouse, featuring a large round table with seats of ironwork. 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, the

Twelve Bens The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the rang ...

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

(also known as the Twelve Pins) beyond

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...

can be seen, and typically the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

to the west.

References

* ''Portrait of Ireland: Landscapes, Treasures, Traditions'' (Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides), 1 August 2000,

External links

{{Commons
Irish Coast Guard Doolin UnitThe Cliffs of Moher
an
O'Brien's Tower
Buildings and structures in County Clare Towers in the Republic of Ireland Towers completed in 1835