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.
