West Ireland

West Ireland

West Ireland is a region of Ireland.

Regions

• County Galway
• County Mayo
• County Roscommon

Cities

• Galway

Towns

• Ballina
• Castlebar
• Clifden
• Roscommon
• Westport – a town north of Galway. Home to Croagh Patrick, a mountain that is climbed barefoot by pilgrims in July, celebrating St Patrick. About an hour's drive from the town is Achill Island, a very popular surfing destination.

Other destinations

• Aran Islands
• Connemara

Talk

Both English and Irish are widely spoken in the West. As with the rest of Ireland, most Irish speakers are found in smaller and more isolated villages, while the cities are dominantly English speaking.

Get in

By car

The M6 motorway from Dublin.

By plane

• Shannon Airport in County Clare
• Ireland West International Airport at Knock, County Mayo

Get around

• Bus Éireann is the main public transportation operator between smaller towns. Their network radiates outward from Galway City
• GalwayTransport.info has listings and timetables links for both Bus Éireann and various private bus companies operating from/through Galway city to the smaller towns.
• Aran Island Ferries and Inis Mór Ferries operate ferries to the Aran Islands

By car hire

Car hire is available from several agencies in the city and at the airport.

• Avis
• Budget Car Rental Ireland - Locations at both Galway Airport and Eyre Sq in Galway City Center
• Hertz
• Alamo / National
• Dan Dooley
• Enterprise Rent a Car

Several local car dealers operate car rentals. These include:

• Windsor Motors - located at Ballybrit
• Arch Motors - located at Westside

Roads outside the larger towns are often narrow and windy. Although this encourages you to slow down and appreciate the wonderful (if a little bleak) scenery, it does mean that getting around will probably take longer than you think.

Do

• Hill walking. Around the county. 

Go next

• Bunratty Castle in Limerick.
• Clonmacnoise in Offaly