Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Vertical sea cliffs up to 230 m in height, stretching 7 km along the County Clare coast, 10 km west of Ennistymon. The cliffs are mainly horizontally layered and unvegetated, with some wide vegetated slopes. The cliffs are a major tourist attraction with visitor centre and car park.
This is the largest colony of breeding seabirds in County Clare. Additional species that breed in numbers of national importance are
Fulmarus glacialis (min. 3,000 birds, 1987),
Rissa tridactyla (4,300 birds, 1987) and
Uria aalge (12,800 birds, 1987).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The high visitor numbers to this site do not seem to have an undue effect on nesting seabirds.
National High
International High140 ha of IBA covered by Refuge for Fauna (Cliffs of Moher; area not known). 140 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Cliffs of Moher, 140 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cliffs of Moher (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cliffs-of-moher-iba-ireland on 23/11/2024.
