The Mall

The Mall is Westport's central boulevard — a tree-lined promenade running alongside the Carrowbeg River through the heart of town. It was designed in the 1780s as part of James Wyatt's planned layout for the town and gives Westport its distinctive Georgian character. The river here is a canalised straightening of the original course, the lime trees are original plantings, and the proportions of the street have barely changed.

The Mall is a pleasant place to sit in the morning or walk in the evening. The surrounding streets — James Street, Bridge Street, and the Octagon at the town centre — complete the Georgian grid and have been well maintained despite the inevitable insertion of modern shopfronts.

things to do sight
A story
The Mall was designed by James Wyatt around 1780 as the centrepiece of a planned town built for the Marquess of Sligo. Wyatt diverted the Carrowbeg River into a straight channel bordered by lime trees to create the boulevard — an unusual piece of urban planning for rural Ireland in the 18th century. The original layout survives almost intact, and The Mall remains one of the best examples of Georgian town planning in the west of Ireland.