Republic of Ireland, Westport

Westport is a town in County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the west coast of Ireland, at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Westport has a gracious town centre in the Georgian architectural style, as one of the few planned towns in the country (by James Wyatt in 1780).

The famous pilgrimage mountain of Croagh Patrick, known locally as "the Reek" lies some 10km west of the town near the villages of Murrisk and Lecanvey.

History

Westport is unusual in Ireland in that it is a planned town. The original village of Cathair na Mart was moved to its present site in the 1780s by the Browne family. The town was laid out by James Wyatt, a famous English architect. He also completed Westport House,the stately home of the Marquess of Sligo and designed the dining room.

The dungeons of the O' Malley castle still remain. The most notable feature of James Wyatt's plan is the lovely tree-lined boulevard, the Mall, built on the River Carrowbeg.

Culture

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". To this day inhabitants of nearby areas, including Castlebar, refer to the people of Westport, sometimes mildly disparagingly, sometimes somewhat affectionately, as Coveys.

Religion

The two main churches are Holy Trinity Church (Church of Ireland), and Saint Mary's Church (Roman Catholic). Holy Trinity Church is small but an architectural gem, and provides magnificent acoustics for concerts.

There used to be a Methodist church on the Mall, but it has not been used for some years. It was renovated a few years ago and is currently a restaurant.

Tourism

Westport is a major tourist draw with visitors coming for several reasons. The most important is the magnificent scenery of the area, and the proximity to Connemara, Achill, Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick.

Westport is well known for sea-angling and freshwater fishing is popular on nearby Loughs Mask and Carra and on the Eriff river. Westport House and 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 Westport House.

Transport

Rail
The town is the terminus of a 250 km railway route from the capital, Dublin, which serves the town and surrounding area. This railway also serves the county town, Castlebar, about 18 km east-north-east of Westport. Westport railway station opened on 28 January 1866.
Road
The N5 national primary route also connects the town to Castlebar, as well as connecting to the N4 near Longford that leads onward to Dublin.
Air
The regional airports are Ireland West Airport Knock, 60 km (36 miles) away with Scheduled flights departing daily to the United Kingdom and to the United States, and Galway Airport, with daily flights to the rest of the nation, France, and the United Kingdom.