O’Brien’s Tower marks the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher. The tower was built on the cliffs in 1835 by local landlord Sir Cornellius O’Brien (MP) as an observation tower for the hundreds of Victorian tourists that frequented the cliffs at the time. Another version tells of O’Brien building the tower in order to impress women he was courting! 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’Brien’s 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 the wall of Moher flagstones along the Cliffs and it is said in the locality that he built everything in the area except the cliffs! He died in 1857 and his remains lie in the O’Brien vault in the graveyard adjoining St Brigid’s Well a short distance away at N52° 57.108' W009° 25.370. It would appear he was held in very high regard locally, as the inscription on the memorial reads:
THIS TESTIMONIAL
HAS BEEN ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
TO
CORNELIUS O'BRIEN ESQre
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS COUNTY IN PARLIAMENT
FOR MORE THAN 2O YEARS
AS A LASTING RECORD OF HIS PUBLIC CONDUCT
AND PRIVATE WORTH
IN ADMIRATION OF THE ENERGY AND SUCCESS
THAT CHARACTERIZED HIS MANY LABOURS
TO PROMOTE THE PROSPERITY OF HIS COUNTRY
AND THE HAPPINESS AND COMFORT OF HIS PEOPLE
AND
AS A TRIBUTE
TO HIS WARMHEARTED LIBERALITY AND FORETHOUGHT
IN PROVIDING FOR THE ACCOMODATION
OF STRANGERS VISITING
THE MAGNIFICENT SCENERY OF THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
TO LOG THIS VIRTUAL
Go to the posted co ordinates and take a picture of you, your GPS, your caching name, or even a thumbs up - framed in the archway attached to O'Briens Tower. Example shown below. Attach the image to your log.
* Logs without the required pics will be deleted *
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
Please note: It is free to access the Cliffs, but there is a charge for the carpark. There are coastal paths that avoid the carpark and can take you to GZ.