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Displaying items by tag: Cliffs of Moher

A developer has succeeded in a legal challenge over parking at the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare.

As The Sunday Independent reports, the Supreme Court has ruled against Clare County Council’s bid to be granted leave to appeal an earlier ruling in favour of developer John Flanagan.

Flanagan’s company, Diamrem Ltd, has built two park-and-ride facilities at Doolin and Liscannor.

The car parks were built under what Flanagan claims was a long-standing agreement with the council.

However, he says the continued use of a carpark next to the Cliffs of Moher has made his company’s facilities uneconomic.

It is understood he is seeking damages from the local authority. The newspaper reports the damages to be in the region of 15 million euros.

Read The Sunday Independent here

Published in Coastal Notes
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A seasonal gift from the Easter Bunny is for visitors to Galway this year, as Aran Island Ferries recommences its award winning cruise to Inis Mór and the Cliffs of Moher.

Last year saw the ferry company (added a new ferry) to its regular transport routes with a stunning day long, or even overnight trip to some of the most stunning locations in the west.

Setting off in the morning from Galway City, the tourist cruise of Galway Bay and beyond treats guests to the beautiful vistas of the west coast.

Awarded “Best Irish Experience 2021”, the cruise takes you to Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Island, to enjoy for several hours in the morning and afternoon.

The ferry will then return by way of the Cliffs of Moher, giving people a new way appreciate the staggering scale of Ireland’s most famous landmark, as the waterside wide truly puts the cliffs into perspective.

For further details of the ferry cruises, Galway Daily has more on the resumption of the service. 

Published in Ferry

The most popular location in Ireland for taking selfies is … the Cliffs of Moher.

That’s according to a new roundup of the 25 most popular selfie spots compiled by travel website EnjoyTravel.

The breathtaking North Clare coastal cliffs round out the list with a total of 634,375 Instagram selfies and 5,000,000 TikTok videos taken there, as RTÉ News reports.

That’s not far behind the numbers from such iconic sights as Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue, Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, the Great Wall of China and the pyramids of Egypt.

But the news should come as little surprise to locals as the cliffs’ visitor centre regularly recorded more than a million visitors annually before the pandemic.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes
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A group searching for a woman missing near the Cliffs of Moher has contacted Afloat.ie in an appeal for her whereabouts.

Pauline Walsh was last seen on Tuesday 6 August in the Hag’s Head area in Co Clare, and since then family and friends have been searching the coastline from Black Head to below Doonbeg, the group says.

According to the Irish Mirror, the 54-year-old from Tullamore in Co Offaly is described as five feet seven inches in height, of a medium build, with blue eyes and short blonde hair.

When last seen she was wearing a pink fleece, black tracksuit bottoms and black runners with pink writing and trim.

Anyone sailing or fishing in the relevant areas of Co Clare and Galway Bay who might have any information about Pauline Walsh’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Garda at Tullamore or any Garda station, or call the confidential line at 1800 666 111.

Published in Coastal Notes

#CliffsOfMoher - An inquest into the death of a BASE jumper at the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year has heard how his parachute opened in the wrong direction as he was in free fall from the top of the Co Clare beauty spot.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the deceased was one of three men who had gone to Aill Na Searrach to perform the jump on the morning of Saturday 22 April.

In his deposition at the inquest, as reported in The Irish Times, Greg McEntee said he completed his own jump and landing safely just before the late Malcolm Rowley leapt from the edge.

McEntee described witnessing Rowley’s free fall and saw him opening his parachute “but when it opened, it didn’t open facing away from the cliffs.”

The incident was a “one in a 100” chance, said the veteran skydiver and BASE jumper of the deceased, whom he noted as having “a reasonable amount” of experience.

BASE (building, antenna, span and earth) jumping is the practice of parachuting from low-altitude fixed objects or cliffs. The extreme sport is considered illegal in most circumstances.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

For the fourth year in a row, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience in County Clare has recorded one million visitors within a calendar year.

The world-famous visitor attraction reached the figure today (Friday, 11 August 2017), 11 days ahead of the date the figure was reached in 2016 and exactly 10 weeks earlier than when the milestone was first reached in 2014.  The North Clare visitor attraction is now on track to exceed its record visitor total of 1,427,166 people in 2016.

The Clare County Council owned attraction has undergone substantial investment in product and facilities in recent years while its position as a Signature Point along the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way has contributed to its growing popularity.

While welcoming the continuing increase in popularity of the attraction, the Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience says measures continue to be put in place to accommodate the increase in numbers sustainably.

“These significant visitor numbers are fantastic for the local tourism sector and the wider West of Ireland economy,” explained Katherine Webster.

She continued, “However, we continue to deal with the challenges in relation to capacity management and sustainable growth.  Measures to sustainably manage group tour numbers have been in place for some time while long summer opening hours and advance notice of capacity constraints onsite are provided both online and via advanced digital signage on all approaches to the Cliffs.”

Ms. Webster continued, “The reality is much of the growth has been experienced in low and shoulder season while high season growth comes outside of the peak hours of 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and the increased visitation in the evening drives benefitto accommodation in the local area.  We also are working with other local tourism providers to encourage visitors to experience more of our wonderful county of Clarethan the Cliffs alone.”

Published in Coastal Notes
Tagged under

#CliffsOfMoher - RTÉ News reports that a man died after a BASE jump went wrong at the Cliffs of Moher yesterday morning (Saturday 22 April).

It’s understood that the deceased, one of three men who had gone to Aill Na Searrach to perform the jump, fell onto rocks at the cliff base when his parachute did not open in time for a safe landing.

Good sea conditions meant the man was promptly recovered by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115, but he was later pronounced dead at Galway University Hospital.

The incident marks the second tragedy at the Cliffs of Moher this month, after a the body of a man seen falling near O’Brien’s Tower was recovered on 9 April, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in News Update

#CliffsOfMoher - The body of what’s believed to be a young German man has been recovered from the Clare coast hours after he was seen falling from the Cliffs of Moher, as BreakingNews.ie reports.

Passers-by north of O’Brien’s Tower raised the alarm around 6.30pm on Saturday evening (8 April) but fading light and poor sea conditions delayed recovery by Irish Coast Guard volunteers till yesterday afternoon (Sunday 9 April).

Published in News Update

#CliffsOfMoher - As much as €20,000 in cash is believed to have been taken in a sophisticated burglary at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre yesterday morning (Monday 3 October).

According to The Irish Times, the building’s security system was disabled after the daring thieves cut its electricity supply, allowing them unfettered access to the visitor centre at one of Ireland’s leading tourist attractions.

Visitors were yesterday warned away from the Co Clare coastal beauty spot while ESB Networks technicians worked to restore power.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update

#CliffsOfMoher - A body has been recovered from the sea below the Cliffs of Moher after a search operation that began on Wednesday (24 August).

BreakingNews.ie reports that the body was found last night but recovery by Garda divers could not be made till around this afternoon (Friday 26 August).

The man, believed to be in his late 50s and from Dublin, was reported missing earlier this week, with his car found near the popular Co Clare coastal beauty spot on Wednesday morning.

Published in News Update
Tagged under
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The home club of Laser Radial Olympic Silver medalist Annalise Murphy, the National Yacht Club is a lot more besides. It is also the spiritual home of the offshore sailing body ISORA, the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race and the biggest Flying Fifteen fleet in Ireland. Founded on a loyal membership, the National Yacht Club at the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay enjoys a family ethos and a strong fellowship in a relaxed atmosphere of support and friendship through sailing.

Bathing in the gentle waterfront ambience of Dun Laoghaire on the edge of South County Dublin, the National Yacht Club has graced the waters of the Irish Sea and far beyond for more than a century and in 2020 celebrates its sesquicentennial.  

The club is particularly active in dinghy and keelboat one-design racing and has hosted three World Championships in recent years including the Flying Fifteen Worlds in 2003, 2019 and the SB3 Worlds in 2008. The ISAF Youth Worlds was co-hosted with our neighbouring club the Royal St. George Yacht Club in 2012...

National Yacht Club Facilities

Facilities include a slipway directly accessing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, over eighty club moorings, platform parking, pontoons, fuelling, watering and crane-lifting ensure that the NYC is excellently equipped to cater for all the needs of the contemporary sailor. Berths with diesel, water, power and overnight facilities are available to cruising yachtsmen with shopping facilities being a short walk away. The club is active throughout the year with full dining and bar facilities and winter activities include bridge, snooker, quiz nights, wine tasting and special events.

National Yacht Club History

Although there are references to an active “club” prior to 1870, history records that the present clubhouse was erected in 1870 at a cost of £4,000 to a design by William Sterling and the Kingstown Royal Harbour Boat Club was registered with Lloyds in the same year. By 1872 the name had been changed to the Kingston Harbour Boat Club and this change was registered at Lloyds.

In 1881. the premises were purchased by a Captain Peacocke and others who formed a proprietary club called the Kingstown Harbour Yacht Club again registered at Lloyds. Some six years later in 1877 the building again changed hands being bought by a Mr Charles Barrington. and between 1877 and 1901 the club was very active and operated for a while as the “Absolute Club” although this change of name was never registered.

In 1901, the lease was purchased by three trustees who registered it as the Edward Yacht Club. In 1930 at a time when the Edward Yacht Club was relatively inactive, a committee including The Earl of Granard approached the trustees with a proposition to form the National Yacht Club. The Earl of Granard had been Commodore of the North Shannon Y.C. and was a senator in the W.T.Cosgrave government. An agreement was reached, the National Yacht Club was registered at Lloyds. The club burgee was created, red cross of Saint George with blue and white quarters being sky cloud, sea and surf. The Earl of Granard became the first Commodore.

In July of 1950, a warrant was issued to the National Yacht Club by the Government under the Merchant Shipping Act authorising members to hoist a club ensign in lieu of the National Flag. The new ensign to include a representation of the harp. This privilege is unique and specific to members of the National Yacht Club. Sterling’s design for the exterior of the club was a hybrid French Chateau and eighteenth century Garden Pavilion and today as a Class A restricted building it continues to provide elegant dining and bar facilities.

An early drawing of the building shows viewing balconies on the roof and the waterfront façade. Subsequent additions of platforms and a new slip to the seaward side and most recently the construction of new changing rooms, offices and boathouse provide state of the art facilities, capable of coping with major international and world championship events. The club provides a wide range of sailing facilities, from Junior training to family cruising, dinghy sailing to offshore racing and caters for most major classes of dinghies, one design keelboats, sports boats and cruiser racers. It provides training facilities within the ISA Youth Sailing Scheme and National Power Boat Schemes.

Past Commodores

1931 – 42 Earl of Granard 1942 – 45 T.J. Hamilton 1945 – 47 P.M. Purcell 1947 – 50 J.J. O’Leary 1950 – 55 A.A. Murphy 1955 – 60 J.J. O’Leary 1960 – 64 F. Lemass 1964 – 69 J.C. McConnell 1969 – 72 P.J. Johnston 1972 – 74 L. Boyd 1974 – 76 F.C. Winkelmann 1976 – 79 P.A. Browne 1979 – 83 W.A. Maguire 1983 – 87 F.J. Cooney 1987 – 88 J.J. Byrne 1988 – 91 M.F. Muldoon 1991 – 94 B.D. Barry 1994 – 97 M.P.B. Horgan 1997 – 00 B. MacNeaney 2000 – 02 I.E. Kiernan 2002 – 05 C.N.I. Moore 2005 – 08 C.J. Murphy 2008 – 11 P.D. Ryan 2011 – P. Barrington 2011-2014 Larry Power 2014-2017 Ronan Beirne 2017 – 2019

At A Glance - National Yacht Club 2024 Events

  • 24th February Optimist Sprint
  • 25th February Leinster Schools Team Racing
  • 3rd March Leinster Schools Team Racing
  • 13th April Lift in
  • 20th April Leinster Schools Team Racing
  • 23rd – 24th, 27th – 28th April University Invitational Match Racing Championships
  • 11th – 12th May 29er Easterns and Invitational Match Racing Nationals
  • 25th – 26th May Women at the Helm Regatta
  • 15th June NYC Regatta
  • 22nd – 23rd June Topper Southern Champs
  • 10th July NYC Junior Regatta
  • 5th September NYC End of Season Race
  • 21st – 22nd September F15 East Coast Championships
  • 5th October Start of F15 Frostbite Series
  • 12th October Lift Out
  • 19th – 20th October RS Aero Easterns

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