The Quiet Man Tour

In 1952, John Ford directed a movie called “The Quiet Man”. The stars were John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Most of the indoor scenes were filmed in the United States, but all of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Ireland. There were a number of places used for filming in County Galway and County Mayo. However, the outdoor scenes of the village were filmed in the Village of Cong in County Mayo.

The village thrives on the income from the tourists who go to visit where the legendary John Wayne starred in a movie that won two Oscars. There is a building that has a museum dedicated to the movie with a number of artefacts that were left behind when the movie cast and crew moved out. They even have a bronze statue of John Wayne carrying Maureen O’Hara in a prominent spot in the village.

Some of the villagers earns their incomes from conducting walking tours of the village. This tour was different from other walking tours that we had while in Ireland. Every stop was the place of one of the scenes of the movie. The guide would choose one of the members of our tour to play a part in the “movie” or story.

At the end of the tour, we were gathered into the museum where the final scene of the movie was re-enacted. The tour members previously chosen for parts continued in their part in this scene along with additional members. My brother was chosen for one of the parts, originally as the husband of a couple. This was hilarious as he is not married. When the guide was told that he was not married, the guide looked at him, then looked at me several times. Each time the guide looked at me, my comment was, “He’s my brother.” So my brother then became the Catholic priest and another couple were chosen. There was also a part for a Church of Ireland minister which was given to the bus driver. I found it quite amusing as my brother is Anglican and the bus driver is Catholic.

The final scene was played out and time was then devoted to purchasing souvenirs. This was followed by a walk up the street to the bus and a trip back to the hotel in Westport for the night.

When I heard that we would be visiting Cong because of its relationship to the movie, I wondered why and I didn’t think that I would enjoy the stop. Because it was done differently from other walking tours, it became more interesting to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You can get a lot out of a walking tour if you are interested in the area and subject matter. You can also learn a lot about an area if the tour is done in such a way that everyone has fun while doing it. I personally am interested in history and visiting a site just because a movie was made there doesn’t make sense to me. The way the presentation was done made it more interesting to me. Yes, I am a fan of John Wayne, but, no, I am not interested in visiting places just because he was there. Now, if you were to invite me to a place where the next Star Wars movie is being filmed while they are there, then yes, I am interested in going because I want to learn how they make things work.

I can fully commend that you should visit the Village of Cong in County Mayo and enjoy “The Quiet Man” walking tour.