About Us
Our Story
Westport Walking Tours was set up by brothers Stephen and Alan Clarke, whose father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather all came from Westport. Their Great Grandfather Edward O’Malley received a gold medal for rescuing 94 Achill islanders during the Clew Bay Disaster in 1894. Their grandfather, PJ. Verdon Clarke, showed Princess Grace of Monaco around Clew bay in 1961, which marked the start of commercial tourism in Westport.
Shortly after Princess Graces visit, he and a few other local businessmen set up the WTO (Westport Tourism Organization), a voluntary body with the aim of promoting tourism in Westport. Stephen is the 3rd generation of the Clarke family involved in the WTO today.
Stephen and Alan grew up hearing all the wonderful stories about their ancestors and always had an interest in the history of Westport. Stephen is certified in Tour Guiding and Heritage and loves showing people around beautiful Westport. Alan looks after their sales, marketing and media advertising.
He is an ambassador for Mayo tourism with his wonderful videos of the area, not only for Westport Walking Tours, but for County Mayo in general. The boys get their inspiration from their uncle, Martin Macrossan, the legend of Derry.
Martin set up Derry City Tours in the 1990s, and in 2013 while wearing his famous yellow jacket, he received the “Tourism Hero Award” from the Northern Ireland Tourism Board. Sadly, Martin passed away suddenly in 2015. His legacy lives on everyday with the yellow jacket tours around Westport Town. Stephen set up Westport Walking Tours in 2015 offering only walking tours around historic Westport.
Since then, the Westport Tours brand has grown in size year in year out and now offers tours of all shapes and sizes. In 2019 and again in 2022 Westport Walking Tours won the Gold award from CIE Tours being voted the best walking tour on the island of Ireland in a survey of over 25,000 CIE guests. Our tours are now the NO.1 Tour and Activity in Westport on Trip Advisor.
Plan an Unforgettable Experience with Westport Tours.
We offer tours of new and old landmarks & attractions in Westport.
