Westport House

If you go to County Mayo in Ireland, Westport House is one place that you should go see. The house itself dates back to 17^th century and has a lot of history. It is said to be built on the foundation of one of the O’Malley castles.

Grace O’Malley, born about 1530, was the daughter of Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille who was the chieftain of the O’Malley clan at the time. They were based in Clew Bay in County Mayo. There is a story that Grace wished to travel to Spain with her father. However, she was told no because her hair was too long. She then proceeded to cut her hair to embarrass her father into taking her. It seems that she may have stowed away onboard ship, not coming out until they were far enough away from land to prevent her from being sent back.

Grace appears to have been well educated, but may not have understood nor spoke the English language. When her father passed on, Grace inherited his shipping and trading business. It is said that she did well in this business.

Why do I mention Grace O’Malley when this is about Westport House? Easy. As I said earlier, it is believed that Westport House was built on the foundation of one of the O’Malley castles. Westport House was originally built by Colonel John Browne who was married to Grace’s great-great-granddaughter, Maude Burke. The house was expanded by various descendants throughout the years.

Westport House survived Cromwell’s invasion, rebellion, famine, and more. Most of the Browne family looked after the house well, but, as in every family, there were a few family members who spent money lavishly. The Browne family, like the O’Malley family in prior times, cared about the people on the estate and in Westport. The Browne family had a plantation in Jamaica and did own slaves, but these were some of the first slaves freed in Jamaica. The family continued to employ their former slaves on their plantation.

The Browne family also worked towards the emancipation of the Catholics in Ireland. During the Great Famine, rather than let their tenants fend for themselves and suffer, they imported meal through Westport quay and fed their tenants at their house. The cauldrons that were used to cook the meal are still there. They also supported the area’s workhouse which was the only shelter for the local people who were destitute. All this was done when there was no money coming in.

Once the famine was over, the Earl then began to revolutionize the farming methods used by the estate. This was done in order to start to put the estate back on a sound financial footing. The estate was almost bankrupt by this time. Things began to turn around.

Westport House was open to the public starting in 1960. Because this was done, the community also began to prosper. Westport House also has other attractions such as a pirate adventure, a camp ground, and is a venue for local festivities. The grounds are magnificent and the house is fabulous. I personally enjoyed the tour and I loved wandering through the dungeons. It’s worth going to visit.

Day Eleven – Field Trip, April 2016

Well, we are no longer in Northern Ireland. We crossed the border about 8:30 this morning at a crossing where there used to be a huge British military camp. This was to prevent anyone who had no legal need from entering into Northern Ireland during The Troubles. At that time, the British presence was a fact of life. Thankfully, the British and the Irish have come to a point ten years ago where they have started to live more peacefully. They still have more work to do to sort out issues, but they are doing well, given the circumstances.

Our first stop this morning was at Donegal Castle. This castle was built approximately 1,000 years ago and, for approximately 300 years, sat empty and became run down. Part of it has been restored and they did an excellent job of it. Hopefully, more of the restoration will happen in the future.

We then walked around the corner to visit a shop where they weave their own tweed. We were greeted with Irish coffee of which I did not partake as I do not drink coffee. This was followed by a demonstration of the types of tweed that they make there and the process that is involved. It was interesting to watch the tweed being woven. They do produce some very nice tweed but I had no interest in purchasing any.

Back on the bus, we then travelled to Drumcliffe to visit the cemetery where W.B. Yeats is buried. We were given a short biography on the bus and we had the opportunity of finding the grave as well as visiting the church that is there. This particular cemetery has a long history as some of the graves have headstones made with the celtic cross. I would have liked to spend more time, but we were running a bit lake.

Lunch was at a restaurant named The Helm which is situated on Clew Bay. Because it was mid afternoon, we were not expecting a big meal. We were wrong. However, the food was delicious.

After lunch, we were taken over to Westport House. It is another site that has a long history. We heard about Grace O’Malley and her descendants. We were given a tour of the first floor and then left to explore the rest for ourselves. I found the dungeon and enjoyed the bit of fun that it provided.

We are now at our hotel and will shortly be going for dinner. Tomorrow, we have some more touring to do, but we will not be changing hotels.