'Moving West' returns to Mayo for fourth season
'Moving West' presenter Mary Kennedy with Barbara Ginty, from Belmullet, who will feature in the popular television series later this year.
A TG4 television series focused on the lives of families and individuals who moved to the west of Ireland will focus again on county Mayo when it returns to screens in 2026.
, a production of Dundara Television and Media, first aired in 2021 and has proved a huge success, exploring the reasons behind families and individuals’ decisions to make their major life change while highlighting the natural beauty and culture of the west of Ireland.
Now on their fourth season, presenter Mary Kennedy spoke to the whilst filming here in October. The production team spent several days in Mayo and filmed segments in Castlebar, Westport, Belmullet and Achill.
“We didn’t realise just how successful the show would be and TG4 were delighted to commission for a second, third and now a fourth time,” she said. “There’s no shortage of stories out there and it is becoming more and more diverse and fascinating.”
Viewers can expect to hear from people from all walks of life who have made Mayo their home on , from an Irish language planning officer who came to Mayo from north Donegal to a Garda from Dublin who has now made Westport his home to a former fashion buyer turned Islands Development Officer working out of Achill Island.
The crew also met with Barbara Ginty, a florist in working and living in Belmullet, who was born in Liverpool to Irish parents who were native to Connemara.
“Barbara speaks completely fluent Irish with an English accent, it really is beautiful sounding,” said Mary. “All of these people are very much part of their new communities but they have all made the point to us that you can’t just sit back and expect the neighbours to come knocking on your door, you have to put yourself out there.
“That being said, people are very welcoming. I don’t know where this notion ever came about someone moving to a new area being a ‘blow-in’ but people are grateful to have new blood in their communities.”
She said stories of positive integration have always been at the core of .
“They participate and add to where they are living and are helping to keep schools open or keep a second teacher. They shop local and support local which is so important.”
was commissioned in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a transformative effect on Irish working life.
“People began to work remotely and said they might as well do that somewhere else or in their home county. Then when they were there, they realised; this is living!
“They realised it was so much more holistic than being stuck in traffic in an urban setting. The people and the stories we highlight and showcase, there is always so much going on. There is a such a vibrancy to the lives of people who have moved to the west.
“Yet they all put at number one the tranquility and slower pace of life. They have been invigorated and are also getting satisfaction from their work life. It has given them good balance, which is what it is all about.”
Season four of will air on TG4 in spring 2026.
