TOURISTS AT THE Cliffs of Moher suffered a litany of scrapes, sprains, bangs and bruises in the past two years, with at least 13 blown over by high winds near the 200-metre high cliffs, while several fell over while trying to take photos.

There were about 10 incidents in which tripping tourists fell into the barbed wire along the path or grabbed it by accident and cut their hands. 

Almost 200 incident reports from Ireland’s most visited attraction were compiled across 2022 and 2023 – mostly slips, trips and falls. The reports were released under Freedom of Information.

In a statement, Clare County Council said the number of visitors requiring first aid represented just a tiny fraction of the total number of visitors – less than 0.02% in 2023. Staff are trained in first aid.

One snap-happy tourist “slipped, banged head”, while another tourist “missed a step and fell onto her face” while taking a photo, and had to have the wound on her nose cleaned by staff and an ice-pack applied.

A tourist who had had a knee replacement fell on their knees while trying to take a photo and stepping onto uneven ground. Another tripped over while trying to catch a falling tripod camera and suffered bruising to their hand and head and grazes on their hand and knee.

Tragic incidents have previously occured at the Cliffs while people were taking photographs. In 2019, an Indian visitor fell to his death while taking photographs, while in 2007, a Hungarian man – understood to have been taking pictures – lost his life.

A young woman died at the Cliffs last month after losing her footing. 

In 2022 and 2023, accidents (the majority resulting in only minor injuries) were not confined to the famous clifftop walks or the climb to the viewing platforms. Tourists tripped in the carpark, on the stairs inside the visitor centre, as well as on grass and near the picnic tables.

Several people injured themselves getting off buses, while one had to go to hospital by ambulance after tripping on a kerb and suffering a suspected broken or dislocated shoulder. 

Wind warning

Several incident reports refer to wind-related injuries, with one stating a woman had hurt herself during a yellow wind warning.

A man suffered concussion after being blown over on New Year’s Eve 2023 – he could not remember what had happened him but his friend reported they had been blown over. An ambulance was called. 

Another woman was advised to go to A&E for stitches after banging her head on a fence when she was blown over by the wind in January 2023. 

There were four separate incidents in April 2023 in which tourists were blown over and injured, including two in one day who both banged their heads off the ground and had to be seen by a paramedic.

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In July 2023 a visitor suffered a “panic attack induced by high winds”.

Over one million people each year travel to the Cliffs of Moher, where visitors can undertake a clifftop walk and visit an interpretation centre. The site is managed for Clare County Council by a subsidiary company, Clare Tourism Development. 

The Cliffs reached new levels of international fame after  they featured prominently in the film version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the height of Potter-mania in the late noughties. The Cliffs also got a shout-out in Netflix’s recent Lindsay Lohan vehicle Irish Wish (although perhaps the less said about that the better).

Clare County Council said the Cliffs were fully accessible with “800 metres of paved pathways and safe viewing platforms”, adding that there is a first aid room in the visitor centre.

“The response to first aid is derived from a variety of incidents occurring on and off the site, including medical reasons and injury from slips, trips and falls,” the council said.