6-29 Poulnabrone and the Cliffs of Moher
The Burren, Doolin, and the Cliffs of Moher—Fionn, Glenn and Max 6/29
Tombs are built to last, to stay the test of time, to preserve those who died. While traveling to the Cliffs of Moher we stopped at the Burren National Park to see the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a portal tomb that has lasted over 5000 years. The tomb is placed on a Cairn and is surrounded by limestone rock full of clints and grikes. Grikes are little channels carved into stone from groundwater, and the clints are the protrusions. The portal tomb is a place of rest for ancestors and a place to conduct rituals. We walked on the limestone and wandered around Cairn; its shape true to its namesake did resemble a portal.
As we ventured south to the cliffs, we stopped by the village of Doolin. We were given time to explore the town briefly to get lunch before stopping at the Cliffs of Moher. In Doolin, there was a pub called O’Connors and many students gathered for lunch, while others went to either Doolin Café or visited other shops in the village. From Doolin, there is a ferry company that brings many people to see both the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher. We did not have too much time to explore, however, it was a great experience to see a smaller village, since we had not seen such a modest village on our trip so far.
On the last leg of the journey out, our coach picked us up on the side of the road just above Doolin, with a long sprawling pasture speckled with houses and shallow rock property lines to our right.
A glimpse of distant cliffs against the ocean to our left foretold our final destination’s glory. It was a brief drive to the Cliffs, filled with anticipation as we climbed the rolling hills. Arriving, we were greeted with a pleasant atmosphere of temperate winds and breaking clouds showing a pastel blue sky above. The Cliffs were busy.
Not Grand Canyon or Rocky Mountain National Park levels of crowding, but certainly full of visitors and tourists. The group climbed up the north side of the cliffs towards O’Brien Tower, where we took a group photo and gazed down at the iconic line of cliffs. They were a marvelous and awe-inspiring sight.
The old water-washed rock rose out of the foamy teal ocean to form lush meadow-topped plateaus stretching right to the edge, dotted from our vantage point with people appearing rather close to the edge. The rocky cliff sides made their age visible through their heavy striations, the sedimentary build-up of strata displaying all three hundred million years of formation that preceded our viewing. Our adventure to the Cliffs of Moher will unquestionably remain a prime event in our collective memory of this study abroad trip.
