Doolin – the walk 7/9/23

Because our walk this morning was so spectacular, I’m devoting this post to just the walk itself. I’ll talk about our journey south in the next post.
We met up with Pat Sweeney (the man in the yellow shirt!) at 10 AM in Doolin to prepare for a walk along the Cliffs of Moher with a local. Pat owns 1 of 14 farms that hug the cliffs between Doolin and the Visitors center. He now also owns a 2nd of those farms passed down from his Grandfather. Pat has 3 sons that he says are “at least” the 5th generation of Sweeney’s here – they are unsure how far back they go because of a lack of good record keeping “back a when”. We started close to sea level in Doolin and quickly came upon the edge of his land up against the cliffs. Here we learned two important things. First, Pat showed us a memorial tombstone on his land. It was of a young man named Seamus Maher who died when he fell off the cliffs late one night while camping there on Pat’s land with friends. Seamus’s mother called Pat and asked if she could see where her son fell. Pat welcomed her, and offered to let the family put a stone there. They never knew each other before, as her family was from Galway. They have tea together during frequent visits. Second, in 2006, Pat started to try and rally his farmer neighbors to build a walking trail at the edge of the farmland close to the cliffs – REAL CLOSE. He met with some resistance, but persevered. It took many years, but he got the farmers to agree, and they built the path themselves – by hand. It opened to little fanfare in 2012, and Pat was proud to share this dream with his Mom before she passed in 2015.
I can’t tell you how stunning and breathtaking this walk is. Pictures and words can’t possibly do it justice. I’ll share some photos, but just know the views are hundreds more times as awe inspiring as they appear.
Our walk covered 4.2 miles, and took about 3 1/2 hours. There were many stops along the way for stories, pictures, and laughs. Pat needed to be back on his farm around 2 PM to check on a cow he expected to “be birthing” today. We stopped on his Grandfather’s farm to watch a beautiful waterfall drop far into the ocean. There were horses, and cattle all along the walk, right up against this other side of the Atlantic. We were treated to views you won’t find at the crowded Visitor Center. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that our path was a bit narrow, and a bit worrisome at points. But, we all had faith in Pat, and our faith was rewarded.
We climbed from close to sea level to the peak of the cliffs at 702 feet. As we got close to the end, Pat received a call from his son. Their cow had given birth to two healthy calves! Both were active and eating. I’m not sure if he was happiest at that, or at the realization that he could watch his beloved hurling match at the pub after our walk without worry!
I know I’ve gone on too long. I can’t say enough about one of the best walks of my life. If you get a chance, take it… take it if you get a chance.