A world-famous walking trail in the west of Ireland should “close immediately” to facilitate works to make it safe according to a report by Sport Ireland.
The report was undertaken in the wake of a two separate tragedies in July 2024 at Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare, that saw two young lives taken after falls from the trail at the tourist attraction. 66 lives were lost at Cliffs of Moher between 1993 and 2017 according to ‘An analysis of international traveller deaths at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, 1993-2017’, published in 2018.
Sport Ireland’s report outlined that “most of the walkers” were “holidaymakers and daytrippers”. They observed “family groups with very young children unprepared either physically or mentally […] for the dangers of this exposed and unprotected cliff walk”.
During their inspection, Sport Ireland found that “many walkers” were seen “walking past warning signs at the trail heads without reading them.”
Sport Ireland said the number of walkers on the trail was “very high” with large numbers coming from the visitors centre and from near the trailhead at the Hag’s Head end with the availability of three fields of unofficial car parking at this end increasing numbers accessing the southern end”.
The report also outlined an incident where a humanist wedding ceremony, which was facilitated by a local landowner, had the couple standing close to the cliff edge with their backs facing the drop.
Sport Ireland said they observed walkers that were “unprepared” for a walk of this grade, that did not need warning signs, and that “unofficial events” were being held too close to the cliffs.
They added: “Facilitating of events such as wedding ceremonies at the cliff edge sends the wrong message to users of the trail giving the impression that these are officially sanctioned events and that it is safe and acceptable to stand off the official trail and at the cliff edge.”
Additionally, they felt that the volume of walkers was “too high” for some sections of the trail.
Sport Ireland also highlighted that walkers had been “asked to keep to the official trail and signs have been erected in multiple locations pointing to the direction of the official trail with a ‘no entry’ sign to the unofficial route”, but that many walkers were seen to simply ignore these signs and continue on the “dangerous unofficial path”.
Sport Ireland also outlined that “walkers were also observed climbing over the flagstone barriers at a number of locations where the official route was clearly distinguished from the unofficial path.”
The report also described areas with “no flagstone barriers or earthen mounds present” where walkers were observed “deliberately branching off the official trail to walk directly out to the cliff edge”.
The report indicated that the inspectors felt the distinction between the official and unofficial route was “unclear”, observing that the unofficial route has now been “worn in”.
The report came to a conclusion, suggesting that the due to the dangerous and/or risky behaviours observed during the inspection, the “unsuitability of this trail for the type of user it is attracting”, and the increase in volume of visitors accessing the trail at any one time, that the entire trail be closed immediately “to facilitate any upgrading works necessary to make the trail safe”.
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