Moher Tower

Moher Tower (Irish: Túr an Mhothair; historically Moher Uí Ruis or Moher Uí Ruidhin)^[2] is the stone ruin of an old Napoleonic-era watchtower which stands on Hag's Head, at the southern end of the Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare, Ireland.

Moher Tower
Irish: Túr an Mhothair
Moher Tower
Former names	Moher Uí Ruis or Moher Uí Ruidhin
General information
Status	ruin
Type	signaling/watchtower
Location	Hag's Head, County Clare
Country	Ireland
Coordinates	52.948212°N 9.467861°W / 52.948212; -9.467861
Estimated completion	c.1808[1]

History

The current tower (which was built c.1808) stands close to the site of a much earlier promontory fort, known as Mothar or Moher.^[3] This earlier fortification stood until at least 1780 and is mentioned in an account from John Lloyd's a Short Tour Of Clare (1780).^[4] The earlier fortification was demolished in 1808 to provide material for a new lookout/signaling tower.^[2] This was built nearby during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), at a time when similar towers were built along Atlantic coasts to counter fears of invasion during Napoleon's reign in Europe.^[2][5]

Construction and use

The building is a single, nearly square, tower with two rectilinear bartizans protruding from the top of its eastern wall, and one from the western wall.^[1] Facing the Atlantic Ocean, the structure appears to have incorporated a fireplace on at least 2 floors, and a dry stone roof which has since mostly caved in.^{[citation needed]}

In summer the tower ruin is occupied by the many choughs and similar birds native to the area. The tower is sometimes used as a refuge by visitors to the Cliffs of Moher who become stranded on the southern cliff path during storms that blow in from the Atlantic.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  Inside Moher Tower
• 
  Moher Tower on Hag's Head

References

1. Mary Tunney (2016). Sites and Monuments Record. National Monuments Service. CL014-010002- [..] Signal tower [..] Situated close to Hag's Head and within a promontory fort (CL014-010001-). The ruins of a Napoleonic signal tower built in 1808. A two-storey square tower defended by two rectangular bartizans protruding from the top of the E wall and one from the W wall
2. Thomas Johnson Westropp (1905). "Archaeology of the Burren: Prehistoric Forts and Dolmens in North Clare (Part IV: Moher Ui Ruis; Lehinch; Dooneeve; Cahers)". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. xxxv.
3. Doolin Web Solutions (2010). "About the Cliffs of Moher". cliffs-moher.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. The Napoleonic signal tower at Hags Head was built [..] close to the site of a long gone 1st century BC ruined fort "Mothar" from which the Cliffs get their name
4. John Lloyd (1780). "Burren, Mohar, Liscanor Bay". Lloyd's Tour of Clare. John Busteed & George Trinder – via Clare Library.
5. Eamonn Kelly (2009). "How The Cliffs Were Named". The Cliffs of Moher. Matthew Kelly. ISBN 0-9561746-0-4. The present tower built near the site of the old Moher Ui Ruidhin was built by the British as a lookout tower during the Napoleonic Wars