Early origins and name Westport originates and gets its name in the Irish language from a 16th-century castle, Cathair na Mart (meaning "the stone fort of the beeves"). A small port also existed at the mouth of the Carrowbeg river. Roads led from the village to the west (West Road), the south (Sandy Hill Road) and the east (Old Paddock Road).
Westport House and 18th-century beginnings Westport's origins are tied to the Browne family. The Brownes were a noble family from Sussex, England, who arrived in Mayo in the 16th century and gradually acquired land around the county, particularly in the Westport area. Their position was strengthened in the later 17th century when Colonel John Browne, a
Jacobite who had fought at the
1691 Siege of Limerick, married Maude Bourke, the great-great-granddaughter of regional soveign
Grace O'Malley (), thereby inheriting rights to lands that had previously belonged to the Bourke and O’Malley families. Seeking to establish a grand residence that reflected their power, the Brownes constructed Westport House in the 18th century, initially built on the site of an Ó Máille castle at Cahernamart. The earliest version of the house stood without a lake or dam, with the tide rising and falling against its walls. From the 1730s onward, the estate was rebuilt and expanded, most notably under the direction of the German architect
Richard Cassels, and later
Thomas Ivory and
James Wyatt. The finished house was set within parkland, with landscaped gardens, terraces, and a lake, symbolically asserting the Brownes’ authority in Mayo and anchoring the planned Georgian town of Westport that grew around the estate.
John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont intended to move the existing Cahernamart settlement to facilitate landscaping of parklands around Westport House; this intention was outlined to
Richard Pococke when he visited Browne in 1752. Workmen were to contact Peter Brown-Kelly, son of the Earl, or the architect William Leeson. In 1778
Peter Browne, 2nd Earl of Altamont engaged
James Wyatt (1746–1813) to redesign parts of Westport House, including its dining room. This engagement fostered a lasting belief that Wyatt was the town's designer, but work on the town was already well advanced when Wyatt began work. If he had any design input into the town project it could only have been to later stages such as the Malls.
19th-century townscape and mapping The town's street plan follows medieval principles of urban design introduced by the
Normans in the 13th century, with a particular emphasis on the incorporation of the river into the composition. Low stone walls contain the river for two blocks and produce, on each side, tree-lined promenades (The Mall) with several stone bridges over the river Carrow Beg. The Malls were constructed by the First Marquess of Sligo after 1800. William Bald's map of Mayo, surveyed between 1809 and 1817, and Henry Browne's map from the same period, show that the basic framework of Westport's streets, including the Malls, was present by the early 19th century. The original architectonic plans for the town, however, are not available.
Revolutionary period (1916 to 1922) In 1916, Westport's
John MacBride became unexpectedly involved in the
Easter Rising when, while visiting Dublin for his brother’s wedding, he encountered
Thomas MacDonagh and offered his services. He was soon appointed second-in-command of the
Irish Volunteers at Jacob’s Biscuit Factory, where he directed men in defending the position. After the surrender, he was court-martialled and executed by firing squad at
Kilmainham Gaol on 5 May 1916, refusing a blindfold and facing death defiantly. His execution sent shockwaves back to Westport and it helped to radicalise opinion in the town, with dozens of local Volunteers later arrested and interned in Britain during the revolutionary period. After the
Easter Rising of 1916, in Westport over 30
Irish Volunteers and
Sinn Féin supporters were arrested by the RIC under the
Defence of the Realm Act 1914 on the orders of resident magistrate John Charles Milling and the local District Inspector, Shore. Those arrested included
Joe Ring,
Tom Derrig and
PJ Doris, editor of the Mayo News; they were sent to
Frongoch internment camp in Wales. Joe Ring and others were released at Christmas 1916. On 29 March 1919, Milling, resident magistrate to County Mayo since 1915, was killed by the
Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) at his home on Newport Road, Westport. A company of the
Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary were based in Westport from June 1921. Following the
Anglo-Irish Treaty, the
Royal Irish Constabulary pulled out of their barracks for the last time on Monday 12 February 1922 and formally handed the barracks over the next day. The Minerva carried 400 troops and a
Rolls-Royce 1920-pattern armoured car, nicknamed the Big Fella, with a
Vickers machine gun and an 18-pounder artillery piece, as well as 600 rifles and 150 bicycles. It anchored off
Inishlyre. General Ring led a landing by sea. The Coastguard station at Rosmoney was captured by 40 National Army troops, freeing 90 pro-treaty prisoners who were held there. Ring then landed his men and armoured car at Westport Quay. Republicans, who had not expected their arrival, set fire to the barracks and withdrew from the town.
Mid to late 20th century The 1920s and 1930s saw important transport shifts. The train line to Achill, which had connected western communities to Westport, was progressively reduced and finally closed in 1937; the loss was part of a shift to wider transfer of goods and passengers from rail to road. In 1960, Westport House opened to the public as a heritage and visitor attraction. It marked a major shift in the Westport economy towards the tourism sector. In 1977, the pharmaceutical company
Allergan established a plant in Westport, becoming one of the company’s largest global manufacturing and research facilities. The site initially specialised in producing eye-care products, and in 1993 it began manufacturing
Botox. Over the following decades, the plant expanded several times, becoming a cornerstone of Westport’s economy and one of the largest employers in the west of Ireland.
21st century Approaching the year 2000, Westport, which had previously experienced high vacancy rates and limited population growth, underwent a regeneration process shaped by a long-term town plan led by Mayo County Council architect Simon Wall. By the 2010s, Westport recorded one of the lowest vacancy rates in Mayo, along with population growth during the national recession and increased inward investment, including over 1,000 jobs at Allergan. In 2011, the Great Western Greenway, a 42 km route along the former Westport-to-Achill railway, was officially opened, transforming the disused corridor into Ireland’s longest coastal greenway at the time and contributing to tourism and local economic activity around Clew Bay. Additional improvements to streetscapes, parking, and public spaces enhanced the town’s quality of life, while tourism development was supported through events and the promotion of Westport as an adventure destination. In 2012, the town was named the Best Place to Live in Ireland, and further investment, including the €50 million redevelopment of Westport House, reinforced its position as a key tourism hub. In 2014, Westport Urban District was disbanded in June 2014 alongside all other
Town councils in Ireland as part of the
Local Government Reform Act 2014. In 2017, Westport House and its 455-acre estate were sold by the Browne family to Mayo-based Hotel Westport Ltd, owned by the Hughes family, in a deal involving an investment plan of up to €50 million. The estate, valued at €10 million and burdened with €1 million in debt, attracted international interest before the Hughes brothers secured the purchase, with negotiations beginning just before Christmas 2016. The Hughes family, who also operate the Hotel Westport and the
Portwest clothing firm, pledged to create 200 jobs over five years and to transform the house into a leading tourist attraction while maintaining normal operations for staff and visitors. The sale was described as emotional by the Browne family, who had struggled with debt since the 2008 recession, while political figures welcomed the move as safeguarding the estate from potential
vulture fund acquisition. In 2020, the
COVID-19 pandemic abruptly reduced overseas tourism and international visitor flows, exposing Westport’s seasonal vulnerabilities and the risks of dependency on international air and coach markets; like many Irish towns, Westport responded by leaning more heavily on domestic staycations, outdoor assets and dispersed experiences. Due to Westport's access to outdoor activities, such as Westport House's outdoor areas, the Great Greenway, Croagh Patrick, and Achill Island, Westport served as one of the largest destinations for Irish staycationers in 2021 and 2022, becoming a boomtown in the summer months. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Westport welcomed hundreds of Ukrainian refugees into local hotels and community facilities under the State’s emergency accommodation programme. Hotel Westport and other properties were taken over to provide temporary shelter, and by early 2024, an estimated 1,303 people had been settled in and around the town. This influx meant that Mayo, and Westport in particular, hosted one of the highest proportions of Ukrainian refugees per capita in Ireland, a concentration that had effects on tourism capacity, housing demand and local services. While the loss of hotel beds to the leisure market created difficulties for Westport’s tourism-dependent economy, the community response was generally supportive, with volunteers, schools and civic groups mobilising to provide language classes, integration supports and day-to-day assistance. ==Economy==