Five Great Pubs to visit in Westport

Westport in County Mayo offers a unique blend of nightlife and family activities. Those travelling with young children can find an abundance of fun family activities to get stuck into here on the banks of Clew Bay. For anyone looking for that little bit more, this buzzy town happens to be home to some of the country’s most famous pubs and late-night venues. This has led to it becoming very popular for hen and stag groups.

But what about those of us searching for a quieter weekend away from the wild parties? Well, thankfully, Westport caters perfectly for this too! There are numerous pleasant bars where you can avoid the mad crowds and enjoy a pint of Guinness in relative peace. Whether its sports, dancing, traditional music or a secluded drink you want, you’ll find it all here!

Read below to find out where to head!

Moran’s on Bridge Street has been in the family since 1949 and is now in the care of the superb barman Johnny Moran. Westport’s most unique bar looks ordinary at first glance but head inside for a shock as you find yourself in a petite grocery store! This gives patrons a great excuse to nip out for a pint while they grab essentials like tea and sugar.

Moran’s is narrow and a bit cramped so head here early in the day if you want to get sitting. You won’t find live music or big sports events here in this exceptionally social pub, making it an awesome setting for tourists and locals to mingle and converse, and converse they do! It is also regularly touted as having the best pint of Guinness in Westport so be sure to sample a pint of the black stuff.

Opening hours here seem to deviate throughout the year.

Next door to Matt Molloy’s on Bridge Street sits The Porterhouse. This lively spot often attracts the overspill crowds from its illustrious neighbour but is a criminally underrated boozer in its own right. It’s a traditional pub with a nice facade and plenty of snug areas to hang out in. Our favourite of these is a tiny heated area to the rear, complete with a handy hatch for ordering beers. Beyond this you’ll find a more sizeable beer garden for the summer evenings! The fairy lighting gives the beer garden a real relaxing ambience.

Although a mighty place to watch sports in Westport, it mainly prides itself on being a terrific music venue. It has won numerous awards in this regard, including Best Music Pub in 2022 and Best Live Entertainment Venue in 2023. In fact, music is on the menu here seven days a week! There are two daily sessions from Monday through Friday and three at the weekends. They tend to start with traditional Irish music in the evenings and move on to more varied and livelier music later at night, meaning there is something for everyone.

The Porterhouse opens from 1pm daily and the live music usually starts at 6:30pm.

It’s impossible to miss the quirky blue and yellow facade of McGing’s on a stroll up High Street. If the exterior is eye-catching then the interior is downright magical! Westport’s oldest pub is over 100 years old and has maintained all of its charm. You won’t find trinkets adorning its walls; it actually feels more like you are sitting in somebody’s house than a pub! It’s deceptively big too and that’s without including the beer garden out back.

The mellow vibe is palpable and a beautiful open fire makes it an uber relaxing bar on a cold winter’s evening. It’s easily our favourite spot on this list for a chilled-out pint with friends and the friendly bar staff are always welcoming. The tempo noticeably picks up from Thursday to Sunday, when live bands play everything from Jazz to Trad, often followed by a DJ set.

McGing’s opens at 4pm most days and live entertainment times vary but are always posted on their Facebook.

Like most of Westport’s best pubs, you’ll find The Old Grainstore on Bridge Street. The 2024 Irish Pub of the Year boasts a classy exterior but it’s unquestionably the inside that sets it apart. The charming traditional interior is vast yet abundantly cosy, thanks to the many open fires and snugs available. The rear holds a spacious heated beer garden with a retractable roof that opens on sunny days. This pub was actually once a grain store which gave it its name, the remnants of which are still visible today.

Although not considered the best music pub on this list, it still packs a punch in this department at the weekends. It is possibly the best pub in Westport for watching live sports however, with three large screens to choose form. The Old Grainstore’s size makes it a much better option for groups of friends than some of the more cramped bars on our list.

It opens from 5pm during the week and 1pm on weekends.

It’s almost too obvious to place Matt Molloy’s on Bridge Street first on our list, yet we just can’t avoid it! This legendary live music venue was opened by Matt Molloy of The Chieftain’s fame in 1989, and he can regularly be seen joining in the trad sessions here. Westport’s most famous pub frequently appears on lists of the best pubs in Ireland and it fully deserves the recognition. The ageless red exterior is complimented by a gorgeous traditional interior, with walls lined with interesting memorabilia from times gone by.

A venue to the rear hosts brilliant gigs of all genres each week. The front of the pub is where you’ll find the bulk of the crowd, but it’s the area in between these two that needs to be seen! This is where musicians from throughout Ireland gather in an informal setting to blast out the best trad music that you’ll ever hear seven nights a week! It’s no surprise that international tourists congregate here to witness this spectacle, with the only mark against it being that it is constantly packed!

Matt Molloy’s opens from 2:30pm during the week and 12:30pm at the weekends and trad sessions can kick off at any time!