MANAGEMENT of the Cliffs of Moher coastal walk do not expect it to reopen fully for this year’s tourist season.
As far back as September, North Clare representatives, Cllr Shane Talty (FF), Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) and Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) called on then Chief Executive of Clare County Council “to urgently engage with Clare Local Development Company to discuss the future management of the walk”.
Speaking at that meeting, Chief Executive Pat Dowling said the local authority needs “full control” of the walk to make it safe.
Consulting engineers, TOBIN were appointed in December 2023 to develop a Management Plan for the Coastal Walk. A draft management process was due to be completed at the end of September which was expected to highlight the inadequacies of the current model and recommend an operational and management Model with a clear lead management structure, maintenance plan and stakeholder role into the future. The plan will now be issued in the next fortnight.
CLDC have said they do not expect the coastal walk to be open for the 2025 tourist season and that the best case scenario would be for the northern section of the 18km route to be accessible from the visitor centre to Doolin or in the opposite direction. The southern section from the visitor centre to Hag’s Head will not open this year.
Rural recreation officer with CLDC, Eoin Hogan outlined, “Last summer, Sport Ireland did their biennial assessment of the trail and there were safety issues highlighted. These issues needed to be dealt with before the trail could be reopened. We couldn’t open the trail unless we did these works. It’s serious construction work that has to be done. The trail is too close to the edge in certain sections. The trail has to be moved back from the edge.
He added, “We have to get landowner agreement, we have to get planning in place in terms of regulatory planning for those works, and Clare County Council are involved in working on those projects as well”.
Sport Ireland have said the trail is included on the National Trails Register and the Public Liability insurance policy for that is managed by Sport Ireland outdoors. It said that following a Sport Ireland inspection of The Cliffs of Moher Coastal Trail, “a number of safety issues were identified along the trail”.
“In agreement with Clare Local Development Company, which manages the trail, these issues were deemed serious enough to require urgent attention,” the statement added. “In managing these remedial works, Clare Local Development Company have structured their plans to allow sections of the trail to remain open while other parts are closed for renovations. This remains the situation. Clare Local Development Company have successfully addressed all safety issues in the areas of the trail that remain open.
“Sections of the trail with unresolved safety issues are now closed to the public until they are addressed,” the Sport Ireland statement read.
The Cliffs of Moher Coastal Trail is owned by 38 farmers with the exception of commonage and 800 metres which are owned by Clare County Council.
Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development are also involved with the project but have yet to comment publicly on the matter.
