Tina O'Connell: Odysseys of Self

What to Expect

Tina O’Connell works out of north Clare and brings a Burren sensibility to the gallery on Westport Quay. In her own words she is “an artist rooted in North Clare, where the limestone landscape of the Burren and generations of family making have shaped my sense of place”. Odysseys of Self follows that thread through storytelling, humour and material exploration, so the work is as much about the act of making and the hands that made it as it is about the landscape behind it.

The show occupies Custom House Studios and Gallery, a working artists’ building at the harbour end of Westport where studio practice and public exhibition sit under the same roof. It runs alongside Sorcha McNamara’s The Weight of Air, and the two shows share an opening night and a closing weekend. On Sunday 13 September both artists take part in an artist talk at the gallery, which is the best chance to hear the thinking behind the work directly. Admission to the gallery is free and there is no need to book, so it works as a drop-in on a wet Westport afternoon or as a proper hour with a notebook.

Good to Know

• Runs Thursday 13 August 2026 to Sunday 13 September 2026
• Opening reception Thursday 13 August, 6pm to 8pm
• Artist talk with Tina O’Connell and Sorcha McNamara on Sunday 13 September
• Custom House Studios + Gallery, The Quay, Westport
• Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, weekends and bank holidays 1pm to 4.30pm
• Admission is free, no booking needed
• Phone 098 28735 or email info@customhousestudios.ie

Getting There

Custom House Studios sits on Westport Quay, about 1.5km from the Octagon in the town centre. The walk down along the Carrowbeg and the Quay Road takes around twenty minutes and is flat the whole way. By car, the N5 comes west from Castlebar and Dublin, and the N59 arrives from Galway through Leenane or from Newport and Achill to the north. There is parking at the Quay beside the harbour. Irish Rail runs Dublin Heuston to Westport services via Manulla Junction, with the station roughly a ten minute walk from the town centre, and Bus Eireann links Westport with Castlebar, Galway and Achill. The Great Western Greenway also finishes near the Quay if you are arriving by bike.