Cliffs of Moher Trail to remain partially closed for rest of 2025

A section of the Cliffs of Moher Trail in Co Clare that's been closed since August will remain closed through the rest of the year.

On the southern section of the Cliffs of Moher Trail, 6km from Liscannor has been "fully closed due to severe safety concerns" since August.

The northern section of the Cliffs of Moher Trail is open from Doolin to Surfers Point only - at this point, walkers are advised to turn back and remain on the walk back to Doolin.

There is no access to the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre from Doolin.

Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) manages the trail, while, according to RTÉ News, the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Trail is owned by 38 farmers, except for commonage and 800 metres which are owned by Clare County Council.

The closure came on the foot of a review conducted by Sport Ireland in August after two teens fell to their deaths at the tourist site in July.

According to the Irish Examiner in November, Sport Ireland's report said in part: “In summary, it was observed that walkers were unprepared for this grade of walk [and] warning signs were unheeded."

The report added: “The volume of walkers was too high for some sections of the trail, and unofficial events were being held close to the cliff edge."

Citing a copy of the report obtained through freedom of information laws, the Irish Examiner added that the inspector’s view was that the trail “be closed immediately” to make it safe.

Meanwhile, in October, TOBIN Engineering announced that it was developing a Management Plan for the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk on behalf of Clare County Council.

"As the 14.km long trail is centered on the most popular outdoor visitor attraction in Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher Experience, it faces a number of challenges including capacity issues, habitat degradation, safety issues, and poor trail condition," TOBIN said at the time.

"The objective of the Management Plan is to address these issues and ensure the long-term sustainability of this iconic outdoor amenity."

Months on from the closure, the necessary works have still not been completed on the Cliffs of Moher Trail while a first draft of the TOBIN report is set to be delivered soon.

Eoin Hogan of CLDC told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Friday that "serious construction work" has to be done.

“The trail is too close to the edge in certain sections, so the trail has to be moved back from the edge," Hogan said.

"We have to get landowner agreement, we have to get planning in place in terms of regulatory planning for those works.

“Clare County Council are involved in working on those projects as well.”

Hogan said that Clare County Council has "options to apply for government funding to do these works," adding: "We’re talking millions of Euros are going to be required to do this."

He continued: “There’s a new strategy being written for the trail which we’re hoping to get the first draft of next month which is going to look at the future management of the trail.”

Hogan said the “best case scenario” at the moment is that the “northern section of the trail opens - you could be able to walk from the center to Doolin or Doolin to the center.”

However, he said that the southern section of the trail is “definitely not” going to open this season.