Westport House

Westport House is one of the biggest attractions in Mayo and one the best places to enjoy a day out for the family in Westport. Designed by the famous architects Richard Cassels and James Wyatt in the 18th century, Westport House is located west of the Shannon and is considered one of Ireland's most beautiful historic homes open to the public. Westport House also has a Pirate Adventure Park with a Pirate Ship thrill ride, Pirates' Plunge flume ride, mini Railway, white swan pedal boats, cannon-ball run slippery slide, Pirate's Den indoor soft play area, dungeons, Pirate's Playground, pitch and putt, fishing, Gracy's Bar and Cafe and a large Caravan and Camping Park set in secluded woodland.

The Great Western Greenway

The Greenway traverses Ireland’s Atlantic coast between Westport town and Achill Island and visits the picturesque villages of Newport and Mulranny (Mallaranny). It passes by some of the West of Ireland’s most dramatic mountains and offers magnificent views of Clew Bay and its many islands.
It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers. It follows the route of the former Achill extension of the Westport railway line, which was constructed in the 1890s and closed in 1937.An estimated 300 people cycle and walk the trail each day, which was constructed at a cost of €3 million. The first section, from Newport to Mulranny, was opened in April 2010. It was named as the 2011 Irish winner of the European Destinations of Excellence award. (Photo by Joe King)

Croagh Patrick

Croagh Patrick is one of Europe's best know places of Pilgrimage. It is traditional to climb to the summit on Reek Sunday, the last Sunday in July, in memory of St. Patrick, who spent forty days and forty nights fasting there in 441 AD. A small church at the summit of the mountain welcomes penitents. It is always worth the climb for the magnificent view of Clew Bay, with its 365 islands. A Celtic hillfort encircles the summit of the mountain indicating Croagh Patrick's importance also in the pre-Christian Era. The Croagh Patrick Information Centre is situated in Murrisk on the Pilgrim's Path at the foot of Croagh Patrick and opposite the National Famine Monument.

The Céide Fields

The Céide Fields (meaning "flat topped hill fields") is an archaeological site on the north County Mayo coast in the west of of Ireland, about 8 kilometres northwest of Ballycastle. The site is the most extensive Neolithic site in the world and contains the oldest known field systems in the world. Using various dating methods, it was discovered that the creation and development of the Céide Fields goes back some five and a half thousand years.

The discovery of the Céide Fields originally began in the 1930s when a local man, schoolteacher Patrick Caulfield, noticed piles of stones which were uncovered as he cut away peat for fuel. In these piles he saw a design that could not have been haphazard; Caulfield noted that the stones must have been placed there by people, because their configuration was clearly unnatural and deliberate. Furthermore, the stones were positioned below the bog, which meant they were there before the bog developed, implying a very ancient origin.

The unravelling of the true significance of this discovery did not begin for another forty years when Patrick's son, Seamus, having studied archaeology, began to investigate further. Investigations revealed a complex of fields, houses and megalithic tombs concealed by the growth of blanket bogs over the course of many centuries.