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The perfect source of information for whats thats happening in Westport and the surrounding area
Arts Festival 2015 Opening
The Westport Arts Festival officially launches on Wednesday the 30th of September in the Town Hall Theatre by Catherine Marshall who was a founding member of the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Other events on today are:
Quilters Exhibition : Town Hall 6.30pm Free Entry
Art Exhibition TAISPEÁNTAS EALAÍNE ART EXHIBITION : Town Hall 7pm Free Entry Official opening and reception, hosted by Carlos Garcia De Alba, Mexican Ambassador to Ireland, to honour 40 years of Ireland.
Draíocht Mhaihg Eo- The Magic of Mayo: Town Hall 8pm Admission €10
Open Art Expo/ Aint’ Misbehavin: McGings High Street 9.30pm Free Entry
Westport Culture Night 2015
Culture Night 2015 is happening Friday 18th of September. Culture Night has been running for the last 10 years throughout the country and has proved very popular. It shines a light on arts, artists and cultural organisations and gives them the opportunity to show everyone what they do throughout the year. It’s a brilliant showcase event and the best thing is it’s absolutely free to everyone. There is hundreds of events happening throughout the country, with may venues offering extended opening hours to accommodate those working during Friday daytime hours. Westport has its own selection of events organised.
Westport based Master Potter and Ceramic Artist Roger Harley opens his studio to the public on Friday Night between 6pm and 9pm. You will get an idea of how Roger works with demonstrations of his pottery skills and explanations on his concepts from design to finished product. Rogers studio Absolute Pottery is based on the Quay Road just a hundred metres from the Octagon. If you can’t make it to his studio Friday, it is still worth a visit anytime of the year and Roger is always very welcoming and helpful to anyone visiting the shop and studio. www.rogerharley.com
The Custom House Studios at Westport Quay is always a popular venue and this year is no exception. The opening times will be extended on Friday from 6pm to 10pm. The Clew Bay Pipe Band will be on hand to start the evening. Along with meeting working professional artists and viewing their work there is also an opportunity for anyone to create their own piece of art in the Print Studio. Local artist Breda Burns will be on hand in a special family workshop for parents and children. Artist Mags Duffy and Ciara O’Hara will have their own exhibitions available on the evening.
The newly opened Westport Town Hall Theatre will have a special event involving local talent in cooperation with the Sacred Heart School and the Mayo County Council Community Youth Initiative. There will be performances of music and drama as well as an opportunity to participate in creative writing if it takes your fancy. This is also an ideal opportunity to visit behind the scenes at the Town Hall with special tours throughout the evening.
Links
www.rogerharley.com
www.westporttheatre.com
www.ciaraohara.com
www.culturenight.ie
www.customhousestudios.ie
Mags Duffy
Westport Festival Of Chamber Music 2015
Westport Festival of Chamber Music 2015 is taking place from Friday 11th September to Sunday 13th of September. The performers include Hugh Linney(Piano) and Catherine Leonard(violin) who perform throughout the weekend at different venues including Westport House, Holy Trinity Church and Westport Town Hall Theatre.
Guest Artists also performing during the festival include Priya Mitchell(Cello), Simon Aspell(Viola), Guy Johnston (Cello),Sylvia O’Brien(Soprano), Jose Franch-Ballester (Clarinet) and Charles Owen (Piano). Guest young musicians performing are Sinead O’Halloran (Cello) and Gary Beecher (Piano).
The festival is very popular with locals and visitors alike, so be sure to get your tickets as early as possible.
Friday 11 September Westport House 8.00pm Tickets €40
Schumann | Fantasiestücke Op.73 Jose Franch-Ballester, Charles Owen, |
Messiaen | L’Abîme des oiseaux Jose Franch-Ballester |
Shostakovich | Seven Romances on verses by Alexander Blok Sylvia O’Brien, Priya Mitchell, Guy Johnston, Charles Owen |
Schubert | Piano Trio No 2 in E flat, D 929 Catherine Leonard, Guy Johnston, Hugh Tinney |
Saturday 12 September Holy Trinity Church 12 noon Tickets €5
Young Musician – Invitation Concert
Sinead O’Halloran (Cello), Gary Beecher (Piano)
Beethoven | Sonata for Cello and Piano No.3 in A major, Op. 69 |
Fauré | Élégie, Op.24 |
Popper | Hungarian Rhapsody, Op.68 |
Saturday 12 September Holy Trinity Church 8.00pm Tickets €20
Bach | Concerto in the Italian style BMV 971 Charles Owen |
Schubert | Der Hirt auf dem Felsen Sylvia O’Brien, Jose Franch-Ballester, Charles Owen |
Stravinsky | L’Histoire du Soldat (suite) Catherine Leonard, Jose Franch-Ballester, Charles Owen |
Brahms | Piano Quartet no 3 in C minor, Op 60 Priya Mitchell, Simon Aspell, Guy Johnston, Hugh Tinney |
Sunday 13th Clew Bay Hotel 12.30 pm free event
‘Meet some musicians and their instruments’
Catherine Leonard and Jose Franch-Ballester introduced by Gary Leahy
Sunday 13 September Westport Town Hall 3.00pm Tickets €22
Mozart | Piano Trio in E flat, K 498 “Kegelstatt” Simon Aspell, Jose Franch-Ballester, Hugh Tinney |
Falla | Siete Canciones Populares Españolas Sylvia O’Brien, Hugh Tinney |
Dvorak | Piano Quintet in A, Op 81 Catherine Leonard, Priya Mitchell, Simon Aspell, Guy Johnston, Charles Owen |
Make sure to check venues for accurate dates and times particularly on the day just in case of any last minute changes. Check venues for ticket availability or check www.classicallinks.ie

Arts Festival 2015
It’s that time of year again where the summer evenings make way for autumnal nights. Even though the weather hasn’t been that good in the summer months there was so many activities happening around Westport we hope it made up for the weather and didn’t spoil your fun too much. The end of September will see the start of the 40th Westport Arts Festival which is quite an achievement in itself. The picture above is a sneak peak of the Westport Arts Festival Poster illustrated by Westport Artist Pamela Gray. The festival runs from Sep 30th to Oct 4th. We will keep you updated on the line up and any news in the coming days and weeks.

Elephant Guest House New Website
Elephant Guest House New Website is now online. Its being a while since we had an active presence on the web with our own website and our new website fulfils an ambition we have had for quite some time. There is lots of new things happening and we will be updating it regularly with news and events from around Westport to further keep our guests up to date on festivals, music, cycling races, walking events or whatever is happenning .
One of the big developments we are delighted with and that guests have been asking for some time is that we can now take bookings directly on our own website. This means a lot to us as we can now offer our guests cheaper prices compared to other online booking websites. The ability to book through us directly helps us avoid the higher commission rates and we will be passing on our savings to all our guests. Guests can easily see availability and pricing information as well get Instant confirmations sent immediately after booking. We are always going to be the cheapest online option!
Keep an eye out for our special deals and pass them onto your friends. We plan on running several deals over the next few months and one or two will be appearing over the next few days.
Elephant Guest House is ideally located on the Wild Atlantic Way and Westport is half way along the worlds longest coastal trail of 2,500km. There are more than fifty discovery points and three of the fifteen major points are within an hours drive of Elephant Guest House.
Mill Street, Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland
EIRCODE F28 N738
Sat Nav 53°47’55.4″N 9°31’19.7″W
Loc8 Code E52-84-4VF