Cliffs of Moher

THE CLIFFS OF MOHER WERE MADE FOR A MOVIE (allegedly!)

Nobody talked about the Cliffs of Moher before 1965 – BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T EXIST! Walt Disney had wanted to make a movie about The White Cliffs of Dover but couldn’t get permission to film there.

The Irish Government were hungry for tourism publicity and volunteered a location. It promised to replicate the Cliffs somewhere on the Clare Coastline. Disney said a scale model would be fine and they could use camera tricks to make them look real.

Unfortunately, the memo was never passed on to the engineers – labourers and navvies were enticed back from London and construction began – they were so accustomed to the slave labour enforced upon them by their Irish employers in that London they managed to get the job done over a Bank Holiday Weekend in June 1965. The rest of the time allocated was spent consuming Guinness and listening to Traditional Music in Miltown Malbay.

The Cliffs were never used for the movie because Disney only had cameras suitable for scale model shooting. The High Infants Class in Doonbeg were able to make a miniature cliff and this was used instead. The original whitewash used on the cliffs has since been weathered by the sea and they have reverted to the original limestone colour. When you visit the Cliffs you will notice the layers of stones used in the construction.

West Clare has thrived ever since the Cliffs arrived and is a major tourism venue. The people are kind and hospitable, the scenery is amazing and the music is fantastic. The Burren area is unique within Ireland and is one of the most unspoilt areas on the island.

We recommend visiting the area and spending a night or two in Galway – the food and the beer taste extra good here and we can highly recommend the shopping.

If you can’t get here try out our website www.galwaybaygifts.com and grab a flavour of this part of the world!