Send flowers to Westport, County Mayo

The town at the foot of the Reek

Westport (Cathair na Mart in Irish) is a town in County Mayo on the south-eastern corner of Clew Bay, on Ireland's west coast. Croagh Patrick, the pilgrimage mountain known locally as "the Reek", rises about 10 kilometres to the west near Murrisk and Lecanvey, and it forms the backdrop to the town.

The town centre is one of the few planned towns in Ireland. It was laid out in the Georgian style, with the Carrowbeg river built into the design and tree-lined promenades called the Mall running along both banks. The first clear evidence of the new town is an advertisement in Faulkner's Dublin Journal in March 1767. That tidy layout makes finding an address easier than in many Irish towns, though houses out on the roads beyond the centre still need an Eircode.

A town that has won plenty of prizes

Westport won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition three times, in 2001, 2006 and 2008, and in 2012 it took the Best Place to Live in Ireland title run by The Irish Times. In a place that cares about how it looks, a bouquet of garden flowers is rarely out of place, especially for someone who likes to keep their own front garden in good order.

Choosing flowers by occasion

For a birthday, a mixed hand-tied bouquet in seasonal colours is a safe choice. If the recipient loves their garden, go for stems that look as if they were cut from one: sweet peas, snapdragons, roses and foliage. For an anniversary, red roses remain the classic, and a mix of peonies and ranunculus suits a spring date.

For a thank-you or a get-well gift to a neighbour, a smaller posy in a jar-style vase is ideal because it fits easily on a kitchen table or windowsill. A new baby calls for soft pastels, and a plant such as a small orchid can last far longer than cut flowers if the parents would like something that stays.

Festival weekends and busy periods

Westport fills up around its festivals. The town's Wikipedia entry lists a Croagh Patrick walking festival in March, the Saltwater Festival in May, a sea angling festival in June and the Westival music and arts festival in October. The Westport Festival of Chamber Music, founded in 2013, is held in venues such as the Town Hall Theatre and Holy Trinity Church. If you are sending to a hotel or guesthouse on one of these weekends, confirm the guest's name and arrival date, because rooms turn over quickly.

The Great Western Greenway, a rail trail to Achill by way of Newport and Mulranny, also brings walkers and cyclists through, and in 2020 the chief executive of Mayo County Council estimated that about 1,000 jobs in Westport were in tourism and hospitality. So a recipient may well be working a shift on the day your flowers arrive. Choose a date that suits them, and if their workplace is a hotel or a restaurant, write the name of the manager or department on the card line.

Sympathy flowers and funerals in Mayo

When someone dies in the town, the details usually appear on rip.ie, and the funeral generally takes place within two or three days. There is often a wake at the family home, then the removal to the church the evening before the Mass. Westport has a Catholic parish church, St Mary's, whose foundation stone was laid in 1813, and Holy Trinity Church, which welcomed St Mary's parishioners during structural repairs in 2004.

Read the notice for the line "family flowers only". If it appears, send a Mass card or make a donation to the named charity, and consider a small posy to the house afterwards. If flowers are welcome, soft whites and greens in a low arrangement are respectful and easy to carry in a car. The florist can add a short message of sympathy to the card.

Hospital visits from Westport

Westport itself does not have a general hospital listed. According to Wikipedia, Mayo University Hospital is in Castlebar and is managed by the Saolta University Health Care Group, so patients from the town are often treated there. Ring the ward before sending anything, as some wards do not accept flowers at all, and always give the patient's full name and the ward.

Mothering Sunday and spring

Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and the delivery calendar fills quickly. Order early and choose a delivery date at checkout rather than waiting. In early February, many Irish households mark St Brigid's Day with a small vase of early spring flowers, which makes a thoughtful gift for an older relative.

Did you know? Westport is one of only a few planned towns in Ireland, with its Georgian centre built around the Carrowbeg river.