Cliffs of Moher at O'Brien's Tower

O'Brien's Tower stands at the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, built in 1835 by local landlord Cornelius O'Brien as an observation point for the Victorian tourists already visiting the cliffs at the time. From the platform around its base, the view takes in the full sweep of the 214-meter cliffs stretching south along the coast, with the Aran Islands and Galway Bay visible on clear days beyond the wheeling seabirds that nest on the ledges below. This is the vantage point used for the vast majority of published Cliffs of Moher photographs, since the tower's elevated position and the curve of the cliffs below it combine to show the scale of the landscape in a single wide shot. The platform gets crowded quickly once coach tours arrive, typically from mid-morning onward in summer, so photographers aiming for a clear shot without other visitors do best arriving close to the site's opening time. Wind at this exposed high point is often stronger than at the lower sections of the cliff path, and camera gear should be secured accordingly. Late afternoon side-lighting brings out the texture of the rock face more than the flatter light of midday.