Pictured outside Pat Cohans Bar while on a Quiet Man
Experience Tour are
Dan Yates (Grandson of Herbert J.Yates) and his son
Stephen.Dan and Stephen stayed at Ashford Castle while
on a short visit to Connemara.
The
restoration of Pat Cohans Bar in Cong is now nearing
completion and visitors to Cong will soon be able to
stop in a have a "pint of the black beer" just
like Sean Thornton and Will Dannagher did at the end
of round one of their epic fight. Opening date will be
confirmed on this site in the coming weeks
Further information can be got from
Paddy@quietmanmovieclub.com or call Paddy on
+353(0) 87-2439760
QUIET MAN RAILWAY LINE TO REOPEN!!!
Fans worldwide of John Ford's classic movie The Quiet Man were last night rejoicing at the news issued by the Irish Government that the Western Rail Corridor linking Limerick and Claremorris is to reopen. For this is the line including the station of Ballyglunin (Castletown in the movie) where Sean Thornton, played by Duke Wayne, came steaming back to the Ireland of his childhood on engine number 59 in the Quiet Man. It was in this station too that Sean pulled his runaway wife Mary Kate Danaher (played by Maureen O'Hara) off the Dublin train before dragging her across the Irish countryside to confront her bullying brother and demand the fortune that was rightly hers.
Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world arrive at Ballyglunin by car and coach to pay homage to the Quiet Man; soon they will be able to arrive on a luxury train also. Padraig Mannion and his team at the Ballyglunin Railway Restoration project have already begun work to restore the station to its former glory when the movie was shot in the summer of 1951. They look forward to a revival of the special trains carrying hundreds of 'Quiet Maniacs' on pilgrimage to worship at one of the prime locations of their favourite movie.
Welcoming this exciting news, Professor Des MacHale, Chairman of the Quiet Man Fan Club, and author of The Complete Guide to the Quiet Man and Picture the Quiet Man, expressed the view that this new development would lead to a welcome boost in tourist numbers from all over the world. 'At last ', he said, 'The Irish Government are waking up to the colossal attraction that the movie the Quiet Man constitutes. I have seen Irish-Americans shed tears of joy at Ballyglunin, just to be standing on the spot where Sean Thornton began his journey of rediscovery of his Irish roots'
Welcome to
The Official Quiet Man Fan Club Website
On behalf of the
officers and committee of the Official Quiet Man Movie
Club I want to extend to you a warm welcome to our
website. This site will act as a friendly meeting
place for all who are interested in this wonderful
movie, a place where they can share their views
with other Quiet Man fans, and also learn of the many
exciting pieces of new information which surface from
time to time.
We welcome your ideas for new
activities--for example, we are currently pursuing
plans to have a version of the Quiet Man in the Irish
language and many of us feel that it is high time the
the lovely Maureen O'Hara was awarded an honorary
Academy Award for her contribution to the Motion
Picture Industry.
We plan to give you details of our annual Quiet Man
Conference, held in 2003 in Ashford Castle, where much
of the film was shot. Remember it is your website, and
we plan to meet your needs--we will have news of new
publications, quizzes, hitherto unseen pictures of the
shooting, in fact anything that will enhance your
enjoyment and appreciation of our favorite
movie.
Professor Des MacHale, Chairman.
