Qualla: Westport https://qualla.com/westport-ireland en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Westport https://qualla.com/westport-ireland Westport: Introduction https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ Westport is a town that was deleted and rebuilt on purpose. The original settlement, called Cathair na Mart, the town of the beef cattle, was a cattle-mart and trading port that had grown up around the old O'Malley castle. In 1780, the Marquess of Sligo decided this messy organic village was inconvenient for his planned country house, so he had it swept aside. A new town was laid out from scratch along the banks of the Carrowbeg River, with tree-lined Georgian streets, an octagonal central square, and stone bridges crossing the canalised river. Two and a half centuries later, that planned town is still here, remarkably intact, with a population of 6,900, full of pubs and traditional music sessions, and serving as the launchpad for one of Ireland's most ancient pilgrimages.

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Westport: The Carrowbeg River https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ Most Irish towns of any age grew up around their main road. Westport grew up around its river. The Carrowbeg runs through the centre of the town, channelled between stone walls and crossed by ornamental Georgian bridges. The design is deliberate. When the Marquess of Sligo's arch...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-the-carrowbeg-river.mp3 0:06 2 full Westport: Reek Sunday https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ On the last Sunday in July, between fifteen and thirty thousand pilgrims gather at the base of Croagh Patrick, the 764-metre quartzite peak that rises straight out of a U-shaped glaciated valley about eight kilometres west of Westport. They climb it. Some come barefoot. The path ...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-reek-sunday.mp3 0:06 3 full Westport: 141 Islands https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ Clew Bay opens out west of Westport, and the view from the town quay is among the most extraordinary in Ireland. The eastern half of the bay is filled with drumlins, the smooth elongated mounds the last glaciers left behind. When the sea rose after the Ice Age, the lower drumlins...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-141-islands.mp3 0:06 4 full Westport: Matt Molloy's Pub https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ Westport punches above its weight musically. Matt Molloy, the flute player of The Chieftains, owns a pub on Bridge Street, and traditional music sessions break out there nightly. Other trad sessions happen in JJ O'Malleys and a half-dozen other pubs across the town centre. The wh...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-matt-molloys-pub.mp3 0:06 5 full Westport: Getting Around https://qualla.com/westport-ireland/ Trains from Dublin Heuston take about three and a half hours, running via Athlone, Roscommon, Claremorris and Castlebar. There are also three connections a day between Westport and Ballina, changing at Manulla Junction for a journey of around an hour. The railway station is 500 m...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/9/4/westport-ireland-wk/gc94-westport-getting-around.mp3 0:06 6 full