Westport is situated at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean containing 365 islands, with, reputedly, another appearing in leap years, although that's to be taken with a pinch of salt of course.
The Irish name, Cathair na Mart, means City of the Beeves, (that’s the plural of beef)The planning of the town was commissioned by Lord Sligo, (he of the stately home, Westport House), as a place for his workers and tenants to live. The original village of Cathair na Mart was moved to its present site in the 1780s by the Browne family.
At the junction of Shop St. and James St. is a tall monument, (pictured at the top of this page), in an area known as The Octagon. The four sides of the plinth have inscriptions; the main one reads:
I am Patrick.
A sinner.
Most unlearned.
The least of all the faithful
and utterly despised by many.
Patrick is St. Patrick, of course.
Just along James Street is the Tourist Office where you can obtain leaflets and information about places to visit. A little way before it on the opposite side of the road is a place where you can hire bicycles and is a depot of Irish Cycle Hire. This organisation enables hirers to collect from one deport, and leave at another. Bike hire is €10 a day with a multi-day discount.
Behind James Street, accessed by various entrances is a car park, and on the periphery are a number of shops. One is Flynn Computers, which, should you need such services, comes highly recommended.
This five-day event now runs annually in July at the Fairgreen. Many of the pubs in the town feature live music, and landlords support local musicians throughout the winter months, when there are inherently less tourists.
Several other festivals are held in and around Westport each year.
The Westport Horse & Pony Show is held on the first weekend in June.
The Sea Angling Festival is held annually in the third or fourth week in June. This is internationally acclaimed, and has been in existence for over 42 years, attracting sea anglers from all over the world.
The annual Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage is held annually on the last Sunday in July, known as Reek Sunday.
The Arts Festival is held in the second two weeks of September. This is a festival of arts, music and literature.
The Westport Seafood Festival is held on the October Bank Holiday weekend.
The Westport Wellness Week Festival is also now growing in popularity and was last held in the last week of February 2007.
Westport is twinned with the town of Plougastel Daoulas in the département of Finistère in western Brittany. Schoolchildren from the two towns regularly exchange visits. It is also partnered with the town of Aror in Kenya, and the people of Westport have often contributed to improving the infrastructure of Aror.
The town is the terminus
of the 250km railway route from Dublin, The station opened on January
28th 1866. There are services throughout the day, and taxis are lined up
outside at train arrival times. Opposite the station is a large Tesco
supermarket, open 7am-11pm Mon-Sat, and 9am-9pm on Sundays.
The train line originally ran through to Westport Quay, but this extension closed in April 1977. The track was lifted overnight in order to pacify local concerns, and the bulk of the track-bed was converted to a public walkway, still open today, and signposted 'Railway Walk'. There was also a branch to Achill Island, but this closed in 1937.
The N5 road connects the town to Castlebar, the county city of Mayo, and to the N4 near Longford, this leading onward to Dublin. The other major road passing through Westport is the N59, which rambles around the West coast to the north and south of the town.
Below are links for Dublin/Westport bus and train times. Bus journey times vary slightly depending on the routes via other towns on the way. There is always a 20 minute stop at Athlone.The trains are very modern, with tables between the seats where you can plug-in and use laptop computers. Refreshments are available on board.
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Westport has a most attractive town centre in the Georgian architectural style, and was one of the few planned towns in the country. Among the picturesque features are its tree-lined, flower decorated promenade (The Mall) and several stone bridges over the river Carrow Beg.
James Wyatt, a famous English architect, laid out the town. He also completed Westport House, and designed the dining room. Richard Cassels, a German architect, had built the former Westport House in the 1730s, on the original O'Malley Castle site. The dungeons of the castle still remain.
Westport House and Country Estate, is one of Ireland's top day-visitor attractions. A fine Georgian mansion, home of Lord Sligo, is open to visitors from April to September each year. The Children's Animal and Bird Park is a particular draw for families, many of whom stay at the caravan and camping park which belongs to the House. Westport is a major tourist draw with visitors for varying reasons. The most important is the magnificent scenery of the area, and the proximity to Connemara, Achill, Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick.
In January 2008, Westport became Google Earth's first fully 3D town allowing potential tourists and other visitors to the town stroll through the streets whilst sitting at their computers
People from Westport town are traditionally known as Coveys. Some decades ago the Covey dialect still existed and was unintelligible to outsiders. For example the Covey word for a woman was a doner.
| Matt Molloy of the well-known Irish band The Chieftains
has a vibrant musical pub on Bridge Street. In fact,
Westport is often regarded as the music capital of Ireland. In 2007
there was a revival of the Westport Music Festival.
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The regional airports are Knock, 60kms away, with scheduled flights departing daily to the UK, Spain and the U.S., and Galway Airport, which has daily flights to other parts of Ireland, France, and the UK.
Westport
House & Quay painted by James O'Connor, 1818
