Westport House in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, is a well known Irish tourist attraction, owned by the Hughes family, who own a number of businesses in the west of Ireland. Until January 2017 it was the ancestral seat of the Browne family, whose head was the Marquesses of Sligo. The title and the house were separated in 2014, following the death of the 11th Marquess of Sligo, who left the estate to his five daughters. His titles passed to his first cousin, Sebastian Ulick Browne, a residential real estate agent in Australia. It was built by the Browne family in the 18th Century, near the site of an O'Malley castle. The architects were Richard Cassels, who built the east section of the house facing the town, and later James Wyatt, who built the other three façades to form a quadrangle. Later the quadrangle was filled in with a grand staircase. North and south wings were added to the designs of Benjamin Wyatt. The south wing, which contained a library, was burned soon after it was built due to a defect in the heating system. It was subsequently rebuilt.
A model farm was built in the demesne in the early part of the 19th century with accommodation for housing animals and animal feed.
The remains of an old boathouse open to the sea.
Colonel John Browne (1638–1711), who had the original Westport House built, married Gráinne O'Malley's great great granddaughter, Maude Burke. He was a Roman Catholic who fought on the Jacobite side in the War of the Two Kings. His descendants, however, converted to the established Church of Ireland, and prospered.
After the death of the 11th Marquess of Sligo in July 2014, the house passed to his five daughters, in accordance with private legislation passed by the Seanad in 1993.
Westport House also has a Pirate Adventure Park with a Pirate Ship thrill ride, Pirates' Plunge flume ride, mini Railway, white swan pedal boats, cannonball run slippery slide, Pirate's Den indoor soft play area, dungeons, Pirate's Playground, pitch and putt, fishing, Gracy's Bar and Cafe and a large Caravan and Camping Park set in secluded woodland.
Designed by the famous architects Richard Cassels and James Wyatt in the 18th century, Westport House is located west of the Shannon and is considered one of Ireland's most beautiful historic homes open to the public. Westport House is situated in a parkland setting with a lake, terraces, and garden views overlooking Clew Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Achill, Clare Island and Ireland's Holy Mountain, Croagh Patrick. It was built and was owned by the Browne family, who are direct descendants of the 16th-century Pirate Queen Gráinne O'Malley. The Brownes sold Westport House to the Hughes family, a local business family in Westport on 17 January 2017 ending an association with Westport House lasting hundreds of years.