Date: 14-Mar-2009Saturday 14th March 2009 – County Clare Professor Eamonn Kelly, who grew up in Lahinch, was a lucky man on Friday 13th. Not only was he among friends, family and well wishers at the Cliffs of Moher but he’d just relaunched a book on the iconic Cliffs that had first seen the light of day in the early 1970s when he worked as the first assistant curator at O’Brien’s Tower. Eamonn, who now lives and works in the United States, and his brother Matthew, who still lives in Lahinch, worked with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and original contributors to update the 1970s publication which was launched on a blustery Friday 13th at the iconic beauty spot.
Originally published as four booklets on the varying topics of “Birds of the Locality”, “History, Myth & Legend”, “A Guide to the Locality” and “Cornelius O’Brien M.P”. the book brings together material on the Cliffs of Moher and the surrounding area that is as appealing to visitors as it was in the 1970s.
At the launch Eamonn talked about his days working at O’Brien’s Tower when it was the only visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher and the need he saw for such a book
“The information in the books covers the areas that were most often asked about in my day to day work at the Cliffs. I knew that we needed something written down about the area when I heard some tourists referring to the seabirds as ducks and talking about how the Vikings shelled the Cliffs of Moher with their cannons from the sea!” He told about researching the book through talking to local people about the history and folklore of the area and by visiting the National Archives in Dublin.
The new version simply entitled
The Cliffs of Moher combines all four booklets in a single edition and contains all of the original material from the 1970s booklets, including photography and drawings as well as updated material.
Katherine Webster – Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience explained that the staff at the new centre had been delighted to provide input to update the publication.
“Visitors today remain thirsty for more information on the Cliffs of Moher and this is a fantastic little book that also makes a lovely souvenir of their visit. Since it’s gone on sale in the visitor centre there’s been a great response from visitors.” said Webster
“It’s not your conventional guidebook – there’s a little bit of history about the book itself and we’re delighted to have participated in bringing it back to the Cliffs”.
The book, which has a retail price of €11.99, is available from the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and shortly from a range of retail outlets throughout County Clare and the country.
The book launch on Friday afternoon saw the culmination of a very busy day at the Cliffs of Moher which began with a live broadcast of the
Ireland AM breakfast show with TV3 from the cliff side viewing areas between 7am and 10am. This show featured live guest appearances by Jamsie O’Connor and Tommy Fleming as well as Cliffs of Moher regulars such as Tina Mulrooney, Benny the Busker and the Lissycasey set dancers. Children from Lahinch and Liscannor National schools also joined St. Patrick and the Mohermen to welcome viewers to the Cliffs. TV3 continued with live weather broadcasts with broadcaster Martin King from the cliff side throughout the day. The TV3 outside broadcast unit was joined by film crews from Canada and Holland during the day who were onsite to film footage for programmes in their home countries. The live broadcasts helped boost the campaign to encourage voting for the Cliffs of Moher in the New 7 Wonders of Nature global online poll. The campaign which is sponsored by 7Up free is gaining momentum with an online presence on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr and supporters can find out more at www.moherman.com
“It’s been a busy day with all the media onsite” said Webster
“It has been a great kick off to the season and particularly to our St. Patrick’s weekend festival and a fantastic spur to the campaign to see the Cliffs of Moher make it into the next round for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.”
-ENDS-
Note to Editor:
Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is available for interview and further comment. Katherine.webster@cliffsofmoher.ie or +353 85 1303579/ +353 657081641.