Clare’s flagship tourist attraction has been targeted by graffiti with the discovery of a large spray-painted mural on the rock of the Cliffs of Moher. A piece of graffiti, measuring roughly eight foot wide and six foot tall, has been discovered on a section of cliff close to Hag’s Head.
The graffiti is located outside of the main tourist centre at the Cliffs of Moher, on a portion of cliff just off the Cliffs Walking Coastal Walking Trail. The identity of the graffiti artist is unknown but he or she could face prosecution if discovered.
The graffiti artist would have had to climb onto a narrow walkway overlooking a sheer 500-foot drop in order to complete the mural.
Because of the porous nature of the sandstone rock which makes up the Cliffs of Moher, it may take years or even decades for the design to be weathered away.
“It’s a real pity that someone felt the need to express themselves in this way and negatively impact on other visitors’ enjoyment of the natural beauty of the area,” said Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.
“It [the graffiti] appears to be towards Hag’s Head and off the marked coastal trail, as well as at some considerable distance from the visitor centre. This is well outside of the visitor centre land. The Atlantic wind, rain and sea spray will wear it away over time.
“The Cliffs of Moher are a Special Protected Area and it is possible that, if the person who did this could be identified, they might face action by the National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS]. But I imagine identifying them and proving they were the culprit would be a very difficult task.”
The graffiti was discovered by local photographer David Olsthoorn, who was in the area shooting seascapes when he discovered the graffiti.
“It’s not an easy spot to get to. It’s a good 15-minute walk on a zig-zag path down a cliff face. It is muddy and slippery so it’s certainly not the sort of place where you’d expect to see graffiti,” he said.
“It is totally out of place there. It looks like something that should be on an alleyway in a city and certainly not on natural rock. Personally, I think it’s a good piece of art but I don’t think it’s in the right place. There could be much worse graffiti down there, there could be something totally stupid, but I still don’t think that this is the right setting for something like this.”
Shame they didn’t take a step or three back to admire their finished work…
Great idea!
It is art and worthy of the effort. It should be protected.
Please, the Cliffs need no other help then just their own magnificence. They have stood the test of time and deserve our respect and protection from people that do not care for anyone else but themselves and think they need to leave their mark on something which is so much more greater and awesome then they could ever, ever be. If the so called ‘artist’ had any artistic sight-of-mind in his being, he would have seen the Cliffs need no help in capturing the interest of anybody or anything. The Cliffs have been awesome for a long, long, long time and will continue to be awesome for many, many, many years to come and the so called ‘artist’ will have been forgotten and buried. Please!!!