The car park at Croagh Patrick is now closed to the public. The decision was taken on behalf of Mayo County Council to close the car park in Murrisk following the request by local Gardí.

This is the second time that the car park has been closed during the pandemic along with an advisory not to climb the mountain during the tightening of restrictions. The decision was made after considering the added risks both Mayo Mountain Rescue and front line services face in rescuing climbers.

For more updates, follow Destination Westport social media accounts.

“We are delighted that Westport hotels who are members of Destination Westport have recently been accredited with the Failte Ireland Safety Charter,” says Ciara Joyce chairperson of Destination Westport. “As we plan our staycations, guests and customers need to know they are safe. Wherever customers see the COVID-19 Safety Charter logo, they’ll know that recommended safety and cleaning guidelines are being adhered to and that staff members have completed essential hygiene and safety control training.”

SAVE

In addition to this new Failte Ireland & Government initiative Destination Westport have signed up to be part of the Stay and Spend Scheme, a tax scheme aimed at consumers save and to helps drive sales in the hospitality sector. The scheme will provide a maximum of €125 in income tax credits to tax-payers who spend up to €625 in restaurants, pubs, hotels, B&Bs and other qualifying businesses, from Autumn 2020 through to Spring 2021.

“Destination Westport members have welcomed this initiative from the government and hope it will encourage the domestic market to take a break in Ireland during the winter months.’ says Joyce.  “Westport is heavily reliant on the over 60’s market during these months but there is a general fear among this age group around travel at present. We hope the Stay and Spend scheme will encourage all age groups to get out there and explore our beautiful part of the country this winter and into the spring. Encouraging guests to come and stay in Westport will in turn drive business to the local shops, restaurants and pubs.”

Find out more about the Spend & Stay scheme here. 

After reading last Friday’s Irish Times piece ‘Covid 19: Westport braces for tough times ahead’ with interest. Japers, we thought. That’s a bit downbeat.

Now, we’re not saying that this isn’t a really, really hard time for everyone – but if there’s one thing we are not here in Westport, it’s defeatist.

We know this weird new normal is only temporary. It will pass, and when it does, we’ll be ready for the bounce. And in the meantime we’re seeing this as a challenge – and another opportunity to prove the strength of our community bonds and the depths of our compassion for one another as businesspeople, as fellow citizens and as friends.

As a town, we’re pulling together and doing our best to make sure that our amazing home-grown businesses are getting the support they need so that when this virus is kicked, those businesses will be still standing, ready to pick up where they left off.

Westport Chamber of Commerce is offering free membership to all the town’s businesses who sign up during the pandemic. Here at Destination Westport, we’re promoting a host of new ways that people can support local retailers, producers, hotels, tourism operators, fitness and wellbeing businesses, spas and more in our latest Shop Local Feature. And we’re looking forward to the bounce that will bring all our visitors back to our beautiful, friendly town.

Our Westport-based local newspaper, The Mayo News, is keeping people up to speed on the services and schemes that are there to support businesses and community members – and keeping our spirits raised too with stories that show our meitheal and community spirit, as well as tips for mental health and practical day-to-day advice for life during the crisis.

Businesses are also reaching back to the community and finding new ways to support the people who have supported them in the past – and who will again in the future. From The Yoga Root offering free and donation-based online yoga classes to Tertulia Bookshop offering to do home deliveries, and from Cornrue Bakery setting up pre-orders for its addictive sourdough to our local craft-beer producer Mescan Brewery organising a big ‘Post-Corona Party’. (We’re looking forward to that hooley…!)

Westport people are rallying to support our volunteer sector too, with the charities that look after our vulnerable members – charities like Westport Meals on Wheels and Westport Lions Club – doing stellar work and getting huge support from the community and businesses.

Yes, these are challenging times, yes this is unprecedented and bit scary. But in Westport we’re pulling together, and so we will survive together, and maybe even come out of this even stronger. Because that’s what we do here. We weren’t voted the Best Place to Live in Ireland for nothing you know!

Here in Westport, many of our local stores and enterprises have an online presence, allowing you to have a browse or pick up a thoughtful pressie for special someone in your life. Or maybe you’d just like to treat yourself (we’re all for that). Others are doing what they can to help you get the stuff you want, helping everyone feel a little more normal in these strange times.

Here are some of our local businesses that you can support right now, while making your own life a little easier at the same time.

Chocolate

At the risk of sounding like a less-threatening Game Of Thrones tagline, Easter is coming! And that means lots and lots of lovely chocolate. Here in Westport we’re lucky to have our very own chocolatier, Marlene’s Chocolate Haven. All Marlene’s huge variety of chocolates are made from the finest Belgian chocolate, and often incorporating local produce, such as Moylurg Honey, West Mayo Beer and Achill Island Sea Salt.

Call in your orders for Easter eggs on 098 24564, and visit www.marleneschochaven.com to order sweet treats. You can even get chocolate Mayo jerseys!

Beer

The pubs might be closed for now, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on a delicious beer. Treat yourself or someone you care about to a selection of Mescan Brewery’s range of scrumptious beers.

This now-famous Westport brewery is still offering home deliveries within Ireland, as well as ‘safe collections’ the brewery gate for close-by customers – and they’re going one step further by arranging a ‘Post-Corona Party’! Yep, they’re planning ‘an almighty hooley’ for when this  coronavirus crisis passes, and anyone who orders Mescan beer from their online shop during the crisis will get on the guestlist!

Books

There’s never been a better time to escape into a good book! Tertulia – A Bookshop Like No Other’s physical store at Westport Quay is closed for now, but the lovely people at Tertulia are now delivering locally to book lovers in the Louisburgh and Westport areas, and they’re also posting orders. Call 085 862 0158 or 087 9091193, or email tertuliabookshop@gmail.com with your choice and they will arrange delivery and payment. Check out their Facebook Page for their favourite book suggestions each day!

Bread

Got a hankering for some doughy delights? Cornrue Bakery at The Demesne, Westport, is still open for business, although the restaurant is temporarily closed. Get your baked goods from 8am to 1pm, Tuesday to Saturday, with pre-orders taken on 087 9348975.

Believe us when we say you have not lived until you’ve tasted Patrick’s award-winning sourdough.

Grains & groceries

Kirstin McDonagh and Mckinley Neal pictured at their PAX Shop at Market Lane, Westport.

Westport’s sustainable grocery store, PAX Whole Foods and Eco Goods, is still receiving, packing and processing payments for orders, much to the relief of its legion of fans. The doors might be closed to the public, but business continues!

Simply email your orders to paxshopwestport@gmail.com or call them on 098 44606, or bring your containers to the door between 10am and 3pm, and they will fill them for you. They will take payments via phone using a credit card, or on collection. No need to go without nutritious whole foods, sustainable cleaning products and personal-care items and fabulous goods grown and crafted in Ireland. Phew!

Something To Look Forward To

Senses Spa Hotel Westport

How about giving someone the gift of something to look forward to, for when the crisis blows over? Give a loved a voucher for a few nights’ stay at one of Westport’s famously welcoming hotels – let them choose the dates of their own holiday. Or get them a spa-treatment voucher to help them unwind after the crisis passes. All of our wonderful hotels and spas offer fantastic voucher schemes, and all would be only too delighted tailor make a package that to suit.

And don’t forget about the multiple delights of Westport House! You can get vouchers for the fun park, vouchers for the historic house itself… you can even get buy books about the house as gifts! Check out their ‘gift ideas’ section here.

Restaurant Deliveries

Fancy a slap-up meal from one of Westport’s restaurants or take-aways? Well Westport Deliveries is here to help. Contact this home delivery service on 087 3828898, from 5pm to 10.45pm seven days a week. Have fun recreating the restaurant atmosphere at home – some candles, a table cloth, a little muzak and you’re all set. They also do deliveries from local filling stations, supermarkets, shops too!

Fitness

You can’t get to the gym right now, but how about hiring some fitness equipment and turning your home into a personal fitness facility? Cool, eh?

Multisport Westport are now hiring out their fitness equipment, offering home delivery of their Concept 2 rowers, Bike Ergs, Ski Ergs, Wahoo Snap Turbos, Row Ergs for just €20 per week (minimum two-week hires). The cost includes delivery, set up and two session plans per week. Now you have no excuse! Text 087 4500802 for bookings.

Body & Soul

The Yoga Root is an embodied health and fitness studio based in Westport. The studio was due to launch on March 14, but due to the Covid-19 crisis, its doors have not yet opened. But that’s not stopping them from keeping us limber and grounded in a crisis.

Through their virtual studio, studio founder Derrick Dark (pictured) will keep the spirit of traditional classes alive by hosting a series of live yoga sessions! He is offering four free types of sessions  – Gentle Flow, Kids’ Yoga, Power Flow and Restorative Flow. More information and timetable available on the website www.theyogaroot.org

News

Where would we be without our award-winning local paper, The Mayo News? The paper is still being printed, and is on shop shelves as usual. However, if you can’t get to the shops, don’t despair! The Mayo News digital edition is available online for just €1.50 for a single edition, €6 for a month’s subscription, or €60 for a year’s subscription.

While The Mayo News carries a certain number of articles online at mayonews.ie, readers will know that there are many, many more stories and features in the printed paper. So if you can’t get your hands on the physical paper, then the digital edition is there for you. Basically, it’s the entire print edition on your screen for you to leaf through at your leisure! To get one paper or subscribe to more, click here.

Retail therapy

Women’s clothing boutique Kaleidoscope, on Westport’s Bridge Street, has a great online store. Have a browse through their fashion, accessories and jewellery, order a treat for yourself or someone special, and wait for the postman. Couldn’t be simpler!

And to help their customers fight cabin fever, the Kaleidoscope crew post regularly on their Facebook page, which is worth checking out too.

If hats are your thing be sure to check out locak milliner Lina Stein’s beautiful website where you can browse through her collection of hats and courses. There is even a COVID-19 relief gift voucher so you can email a gift to someone special.

]]> https://www.destinationwestport.com/covid-19-information Sat, 14 Mar 2020 15:15:27 +0000 https://www.destinationwestport.com/?p=17473 Please work with us, the Government of Ireland & The Health Service Executive to do all we can to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The National Tourism Development Authority and Fáile Ireland are working closely with the Government and tourism industry here in Westport as the COVID-19 situation unfolds.

We would like to reassure locals and visitors that we are taking all the steps we possibly can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Latest Updates:

• 19:00 March 15th – All pubs in Westport will close as of midnight tonight for two weeks.

• Our hotels & businesses that are open are maintaining the highest possible standards of cleanliness, in line with the advice and guidelines from the Health Service Executive (HSE).
• The tourism industry here is monitoring the situation closely and are following official recommendations for the protection of all here in Westport.
• Please practice social distancing, hand washing & cough ettiquite in line with the HSE guidelines.

For the latest measures that the Irish Government have taken to tackle COVID-19 please see the latest statement from the Taoiseach here.

Government Recommendations 

• We advise all visitors to Westport to adhere to recommendations from the Department of Health with regard to protecting yourself & others. If you have travelled from an affected area please note the advice given with regard to quarantine. You will find all information on the Governments of Ireland’s Website and on The Health Services Executive’s Website.

Travel and Public Transport to Westport

• For the latest travel advice, please visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
• Public transport will continue as normal but the public is asked to follow guidelines on social distancing.
• If you’re concerned about how the COVID-19 situation could affect your travel plans, we recommend that you check with your airline, tour operator, transport and accommodation provider here in Westport directly.

Tourism Sites, Activities and Events 

• All cultural institutions and many local visitor attractions will be closed until 29th March or until further notice. This includes Westport House, Westport Leisure Park, The W Cinema, The Heritage Centre & The Town Hall Theatre.  In most instances, our walking trails (Great Western Greenway) and parklands at Westport House will remain open.
• All indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people have been cancelled. This advice will be in effect until 29th March 2020. Please see our events section for event cancellation updates.

We will be updating this page as soon as we recieve further information.

Useful websites:

World Health Organization (WHO)
Visit the HSE website for updated guidance of COVID-19  (HSE)
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Anyone who’s climbed Croagh Patrick recently knows that the pathway to the summit is in a bit of a state. Over the years, the holy mountain’s famous trail has been travelled by countless pilgrims, walkers, racers and rescuers – not to mention sheep, dogs and even a few donkeys. That’s a lot of footfall, and it was bound to take a heavy toll.

In recent years, it became obvious that the path up The Reek (as the mountain is known locally) was badly in need of some TLC. And this week that TLC has come – in the form of a whopping €480,000 in government funding for repair and restoration. The funding was approved by Westport’s own political heavyweight, Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring, and it will be used to support sustainable access works and habitat restoration on Croagh Patrick.

Announcing the welcome cash injection, the minister explained that the money will be used to ‘create a stone path to enable walkers and pilgrims to use the mountain in a sustainable way’.

The pathway will be mostly about two metres wide, with occasional wider parts to allow walkers to gather together without spilling off the route and damaging the surrounding vegetation.

“The objective is to manage the path in a way that is sympathetic to the setting whilst respecting the cultural value of the mountain,” said Minister Ring, who also paid tribute to the work done by the local Croagh Patrick Stakeholders Group and Mayo County Council in coming up with a sustainable solution for the much-loved mountain.

Locally sourced materials will be used throughout the restoration works. The aim is to use materials harvested from the length of the route itself. Any imported stone will match that of the Croagh Patrick quartzite.

All work will be finished by hand, with the use of excavators kept to a minimum so that people climbing the mountain can do so in as safe an environment as possible.

Alongside the path and habitat restoration efforts, a new public-awareness programme is also being rolled out for all who ascend the Reek’s sacred trail. This will be aimed at promoting appropriate use, managing expectations and encouraging people to consider their potential impact on Croagh Patrick, as well as helping them to understand the historical and cultural significance of the mountain.

Good news indeed, and we at Destination Westport welcome the announcement with open arms and high hopes!

1. Catch a show

Lyngo Theatre Presents Heart of Winter, Westport Town Hall, Dec 8th

What could get you more in the mood for Christmas than a good Christmas show? Westport Town Hall Theatre has a fabulous festive line-up every year, and this year is no different. There’s the Festive Harmony show – an evening of dance, popular classical and musical favourites, carols and more – returns for its fourth year. There’s also beautiful Children’s theatre with the Christmas tale ‘Heart of Winter’, and Christmas concerts by string orchestra Octagon Ensemble, Westport Children’s Choir and Knockroosky National School. And, of course, there’s the all-important annual panto – this year it’s Bo Peep!

2. Westport Town Band

Few things are more Christmassy – or more symbolic of community – than a town brass band playing festive tunes, and here in Westport we have one of the best brass bands around. Established 130 years ago, the 40-strong Westport Town Band is part of our fabric. Catch them on Saturday, December 14, and again on Saturday, December 21, when they’ll be serenading shoppers on the streets with their rousing Christmas repertoire, resplendent in their bright blue, gold and black uniforms.

The band will also be playing in beautiful St Mary’s Church on Christmas Eve from 8.15pm, ahead of the 9pm Christmas Eve Mass.

3. Winter Wonderland

Give the kids a treat they’ll never forget and head to Winter Wonderland at Westport House, where a magical family experience brimming with Christmas cheer awaits. There’ll be fire-side storytelling with Mrs Clause, a visit to Santa in his magical grotto, a visit to Tinsel Town to see the elves at work, Santa letter writing at the North Pole Express post office, and more – and all in the atmospheric splendour of Westport House, beautifully bedecked in atmospheric twinkling lights, lush green garlands and sparkling tinsel trimmings.

4. Spraoi na Nollag

Don’t miss Spraoi na Nollag – an afternoon of free festive entertainment at The Octagon and Westport Town Hall on Sunday, December 15, when Santa himself will arrive in Westport. With the crib and giant Christmas tree taking centre stage at The Octagon, the whole area will be the a fabulously festive focal point. The Clew Bay Jarvey horse and carriage will bring the Man in Red led through the town, led by Westport Town Band, arriving The Octagon for a meet and greet with children. Then it’s into Westport Town Hall Theatre for storytelling, puppet shows, sweet treats, carol singing and more. Warning: Hearts will melt!

5. Christmas Day Swim

Every year for the last 36 years, the hardy souls at Westport Rugby Club have organised a traditional Christmas Day swim, raising funds for local charities. Join the Westport Bulls as they strip down to their swimming togs – bare skin to the biting breeze – before plunging into the icy waters of the Atlantic at Bertra Beach. You’re welcome to brave the briny elements too (a guaranteed hangover cure!), or simply head along to join the crowds giving the courageous dippers a massive cheer. Keep an eye on the club’s Website and Facebook page for updates about times.

The dead (at least the important dead) were given splendid tombs that took immense efforts to construct, while the living were preoccupied with keeping on the right side of their pagan gods and surviving divine wrath. Evidence of these ancient people is scattered everywhere around Mayo, offering us modern humans a chance to connect with our forebears and wonder at their resilience and workmanship.

Here are six ancient sites that lie close to Westport – visit them and feel the breath of the past on your neck, and the spirit of the ancients in your soul…

1.Srahwee Wedge Tomb

Around 10km south of Louisburgh, amid stunning scenery, lies one of the best-preserved examples of a wedge tomb in the country. The magnificently constructed megalithic Srahwee Wedge Tomb is comprised of a large flat stone, or roof slab, that covers a double-walled tomb chamber. A door stone covers the tomb entrance, which faces west. Traces of a cairn can also be detected around the monument.

To find this walled wonder drive through Louisburg towards Killeen. At Killeen crossroads take a left; after around 200 yards the roads bends sharply to the left – about two miles down this road you will come to a fork in the road, and the tomb is situated between the fork.

2. Aillemore court tomb

Lying 8km west-southwest of Louisburgh (4km west-southwest of the Srahwee Wedge Tomb) near the crest of a ridge overlooking the valley of the Bunsheenshough river, is an almost-intact court tomb in the rural townland of Aillemore. 

The tomb’s huge roof-slabs – once supported by massive steeply pitched, tightly packed slabs – have been pulled to one side, while the forecourt at the entrance has been hidden in displaced cairn material. The tomb itself is made up of a two-chambered gallery and a small, almost hidden subsidiary chamber behind. The surrounding cairn rises to the top of the gallery stones (about 1.5 metres high) and is over 16 metres long by 14 metres wide. 

3. Nymphsfield Stone Circles

Move over Stonehenge. Here in Mayo, we have a group of four stone circles capable of knocking the socks off any ancient-history buff. 

Less than an hour’s drive from Westport, the Nymphsfield Stone Circles stand on the former grounds of an estate known as Nymphsfield or Glebe – about 1.5km north of the entrance to Ashford Castle in Cong, and signposted from the road. 

Access to the first circle is a mere hop over a stile from the road, and a short walk across a field. Surrounded by a beech tree, this 14-meter wide circle is in good condition, with 23 of its weathered limestone slabs still in place, though several are broken off at ground level. 

In the next field, on the other side of a stone wall, stands the largest circle – or what remains of it (about one third of the original). Hop over another wall to the north, and discover the enchanting smallest circle. Largely intact, though quite overgrown, it is guarded by hawthorn trees – those faerie trees so deeply embedded in Irish mythology. 

The fourth circle, the most complete of the four, is the least obvious, as it stands in back garden of a nearby house.

4. Boheh (or Bohea)

Just over 6 kilometres south of Westport, off the Leenane Road, lies the ancient Boheh Stone, one of the finest examples of neolithic rock art in Ireland. 

The surface of this stone is decorated with many carved ‘cup and ring’ marks, as well as ‘keyhole’ motifs – about 250 engravings in total – dating from as early as 3,800 BC. 

People visit this National Monument all year round to marvel at the work of ancient hands. However, on two dates in particular, these visits take on special significance: When viewed from the Boheh Stone, the setting sun appears to roll down Croagh Patrick’s northern shoulder on April 18 and August 24. This ‘Rolling Sun’ phenomenon may sparked awe or even fear in the ancient inhabitants, who may have embellished the stone with its decorative marks in an effort to appease the gods.

5. Killadangan

There’s an embarrassment of ancient riches to be discovered at Killadangan, just 5km west of Westport, along the coast road (2km before the village of Murrisk). Located on a salt marsh, the megalithic complex at Killadangan includes an earthen enclosure, a stone row, three standing stones, a possible stone circle and a fulacht fiadh, or cooking site.

The stone row is made up of four stones aligned NNE-SSW, increasing in height north to south, culminating in a 1.2-metre-high stone. Located in the western quadrant of the earthen enclosure, the line of stones points to a small niche in the eastern shoulder of Croagh Patrick where the sun appears to set every year on the Winter Solstice. The axes of the standing stones also point to this special niche.

Between Killadangan and Boheh, the ancients’ fascination with the sun and its behaviour around Croagh Patrick (known then as Cruagh Aigle) is plain to see.

6. Achill Portal Tomb

Portal tombs are mainly found in the northern half of the country, and a fine example can be found on Achill Island. Named ‘Giant’s Grave’ on both historic and OSI maps, it lies on the lower, southern slope of the island’s second-highest peak, Slievemore, overlooking Keel Lough to the south. 

The tomb boasts a truly impressive capstone measuring almost 3 metres long, over 2 metres wide and over a third of a metre deep. It’s easy to see how the tomb got its modern moniker – only a giant’s family would be able to move such a weight! The cap has slipped off the structure and now lies to its south, waiting patiently for another friendly giant to lift it back into place. The west portal stone, 2.3 metres in height, is still standing. The west side-stone remains in place, with the east side-stone now lying against it.

1. Peace Palace

Clew Bay is famed for its tranquility on balmy days when the seas are calm. But did you know that one of its islands is wholly dedicated to peace? Maharishi Island of World Peace, or Inishraher, is 30 acres of pure serenity. Its purpose-built retreat centre, or Peace Palace, attracts guests from all over the world, who go to experience peace through the practice of Transcendental Meditation. What a perfect place to leave the worries of the world behind, reconnect with nature and find inner peace. See www.islandofworldpeace.ie to find out more

2. Squillions of Seals

Clew Bay’s archipelago of islands is home to squillions of those most-endearing of marine mammals, common (or harbour) seals. Humans might have hang outs, but seals have haul outs – outcrops of land where they go to bask, moult and mate. There are lots of haul outs in Clew Bay, offering boat trippers a wonderful chance to watch these lovely creatures in their element. Despite their name, common seals are rarer than larger grey seals in Irish waters nowadays, making these sightings even more special. 

3. Beatle Island

The diminutive 19-acre Clew Bay isle of Dorinish has been both the dream island of Beatle John Lennon, who owned it until his death, and a colony of hippies, known as The Diggers. Lennon bought in 1967 and got planning permission, although he never got as far as building. He shipped over a multicoloured gypsy caravan and took Yoko Ono there for a visit. Eventually, he let Sid Rawle, dubbed ‘King of the Hippies’ set up a New Age camp there. Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement, hoped to build a sustainable, self-sufficient utopia, but the wild Atlantic elements proved to harsh – the hippies lasted two years before a howling wind fanned the flames from a spilt gas lamp to destroy their teepees, driving them back to the mainland. 

4. Shipwrecks

The waters of Clew Bay also hold the ghostly remains of tragedies past, with many shipwrecks lying on the seabed to this day. Despite the shelter of Clare Island, the bay is frequently ravaged by ferocious storms that sweep in from the Atlantic. Throw in the perils of  shingle bars, submerged rocks and sunken drumlins, and Clew Bay can suddenly become very treacherous indeed. 

Shipwrecks of note include two Armada ships, the San Nicolas Prodaneli and the El Gran Grin, which sank in 1588; ‘The Fancy’, a Man O’ War pirate ship that sank near Inishlyre in 1696; and ‘The Leguan’, which was en route from the Caribbean to Scotland with a cargo of rum, sugar and molasses when it was lost at Lecanvey in 1860. Perhaps the saddest tale is that of ‘The Victory’, a hooker that was carrying about 100 Achill Island ‘tatie hokers’ (potato harvesters) to a steamship bound for Scotland in 1894. It overturned near Westport Quay when its passengers rushed to one side to get a good view of the Glasgow-bound steamer, the SS Elm, and 30 people drowned.

5. Myth of the 365 islands

It is often said that there are 365 islands in Clew Bay – one for every day of the year. While there are indeed hundreds of islands of all shapes and sizes, the figure is really closer to 120. The myth likely has its origins in the large number of limestone drumlins at the east end of the bay. These drumlins, partly drowned, were formed when glaciers reshaped the landscape during the last ice age. Now, if we were to count the wholly submerged drumlins too, then maybe, just maybe, they would number 365.

6. Powerful Pirate Queen

Clew Bay was the stronghold of the O’Malley clan during the Middle Ages – the most famous member of whom is Grace O’Malley or Granuaile, the Pirate Queen. Granuaile commanded a fleet of ships and possessed several castles, including those on Clare Island and Achill, and at Rockfleet near Newport. While sailing across the bay, her pirate fleet would fly flags bearing the motto of the O’Malley clan: Terra Marique Potens – Powerful on Land and Sea. This motto still adorns the walls of Clare Island’s renowned Cistercian abbey, which was founded by Grace’s father. It is here that the Pirate Queen is said to be buried.

Maria and her husband Darren’s mission is to have “our customers arrive as guests and leave as friends”.

What’s your top tip for first-time visitors to Westport?

Always ask locals for recommendations for whatever you are looking for. Things to do, best pubs, restaurants, places to go. Its what I would always do if I am away, you can’t beat local knowledge for finding quirky places to see & always eat where the locals do.

When you go for a walk in or close to Westport, where do you like to go, and why?

I love walking with my 2 dogs on a loop around Rosbeg. Even though it’s the same walk, I never get tired of it. The sea & Croagh Patrick look different every day and I finish it off with the dogs (not me) going for a swim at the pier. Magic.

What’s your favourite Westport festival, and why?

Ones I like to attend are Westival & the Rolling sun book festival and The Bluegrass festival. I love the buzz in the town when Gaelforce & Sea2summitt adventure races are on, although I am far too lazy to take part.

If you weren’t a hotelier, what would you choose to be?

Psychology has always been an interest of mine so I would have liked to do something in connection with that. I also love music & animals.

What’s the strangest thing someone has left behind in a room in your hotel?

An oxygen tank!

What’s the most heartwarming experience you’ve had as a hotelier?

I love when you can do something small for somebody and it just means so much. It’s the little things you may do that you get the best feedback on sometimes & it’s the best feeling.

If you could stay a week in any hotel in the world, where would you choose, and why?

Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa, one of my favourite places in the world, for the people, the animals, the food & wine. I love that It employs locals and a percentage of what you pay goes back into the local community & schools.

What do you like best about what you do? 

The variety and believe me there is never a dull day, we always say here how many books we could write. Also, it’s the people, I don’t think there is any other industry where you have to be an employer, social worker, phycologist, mentor, chef, barman, receptionist, electrician, plumber…the list is endless. The phrase, ‘jack of all trades & master of none’ comes to mind!

www.clewbayhotel.com