Weather hampers bid to recover woman’s body at cliffs

THE body of a Dublin woman remained lodged, for a second night, on rocks at the base of the Cliffs of Moher after adverse weather continued to hamper rescue services yesterday.

Strong winds, whipping up high seas, prevented efforts by the Doolin Rescue Unit to retrieve the woman who accidentally fell to her death on Monday. Her name was last night withheld by gardaí.

Family members of the victim will return to the famed beauty spot this morning as, weather permitting, Doolin Coastguard volunteers make a further attempt to recover the body.

The woman, from Dublin’s southside, was visiting the Cliffs of Moher as part of a party aboard a CIÉ International Tours bus. She fell 600 feet from a viewing platform within minutes of arriving at the cliff-top site.

Clare County Council, which is advancing plans for a €25m amenity centre at the top visitor attraction, said yesterday major safety works had been completed at the Cliffs of Moher last year.

The council’s director of services, Ger Dollard, said: “In a joint venture with Shannon Development, we completed significant safety improvements at the site. Although we improved walkways and erected barriers, at the end of the day the site is a cliff top with natural hazards.”

He said a viewing platform at the site had a railing and a wall to increase safety. “The council is not fully aware of the circumstances in this tragic case,” he said.

Clare County Council has also erected a large number of warning signs. “The signs, which warn of dangerous cliffs ahead, are designed to create a public awareness of a need for greater safety,” Mr Dollard said.

He said the proposed amenity centre, which got the green light after a Bord Pleanála appeal decision last December, includes a more elaborate viewing platform.