Most everyone is familiar with the John Wayne/Maureen O’Hara classic, “The Quiet Man.” It’s a favorite of Loni and me. It was filmed in and around the village of Conn, and internet research divulged that the stone bridge and the cottage used in the film are still around. So, of course, is the village of Conn, but probably much changed from 1952 when the movie was shot. Our odyssey took us all over the place, with less than satisfactory results until a “say what?” moment at the very end.But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
We bid farewell to the posh Eas Dun Lodge after a very nice breakfast. I opted today for porridge and was rewarded with the best by far this trip. Nice, thick, plenty of texture, unlike the much more watery fare we have been having.
One of the must-see items on Chuck’s (weenie English major) list was to visit the burial place of William Butler Yeats. It was located in the yard of St. Columba’s Parish Church in the town of Drumcliffe. We accommodate all tastes on this trip!
The flat marker at the foot of the grave is for Georgie, his much younger wife. OK, that out of the way, we checked out the interior, which was quite nice.
Our next stop was Sligo Abbey, built by Maurice Fitzgerald for the Dominicans in 1252 and accidentally burnt down in 1414, when a candle left carelessly in the building set it on fire. The Abbey was further damaged during the 1641 rebellion. Legend says that worshippers saved the abbey's silver bell which was thrown into Lough Gill and only those free from sin can hear it peal. I didn’t hear a thing. The site contains a great wealth of carvings including Gothic and Renaissance tomb sculpture, well preserved cloisters and the only sculptured 15th Century high altar to survive in any Irish monastic church. The carving in the right panel below is the rose and thistle, the symbol of united Scotland and England.
The famous alter is, well, less than impressive, except as a survivor.
The colonnades, however, are remarkably intact.
I don’t remember what this next place was called; we were just trying to find a place for lunch or scones, I think. Anyway, the staff inside was distinctly cool and it all seemed a bit disorganized and expensive, so we didn’t stick around. Pretty impressive front lawn, though. The Irish “Downton Abbey,” perhaps?
What we ended up doing was dining al fresco with our bovine onlookers.
OK, time to get on with our quest for The Quiet Man. We found the village of Cong and a place to park, no mean feat in a town that exists only for tourism, and tourism for one thing only:
Looks pretty good as far as The Duke goes, but I think O’Hara would be turning over in her grave. Doesn’t look anything like her. The town is really compact, and it was a hoot watching the tour buses and trucks trying to negotiate the narrow streets.
I had to help one out by moving a sidewalk placard so that he could make the turn. We set off to find the cottage used by Wayne’s character in the movie. We found it, sort of. It turns out that the real cottage was located nowhere near the town, but the enterprising folks of Cong didn’t let that slow them down. They built an exact replica, inside and out, furnished just like the set used in the movie. Well, heck. That was a letdown. We didn’t pay the entry fee just to see a dopey copy, but did take some shots of the exterior.
Nearby was the Cong Abbey, founded in the 6th (!) century, but not much remains of the original. It went through the usual fire, destruction, and rebuilding more than once. Most of what is seen today is from the 1200’s. Still, not bad for all that time.
The Abbey was located adjacent to a beautiful park which lay just across a small stream, the Cong Clonbur Forest Recreation Area. A whole gaggle of French tourists offloaded from a bus, made a beeline through the Abbey and into the park. I was fascinated that they didn’t give a second thought to the Abbey. Well, the park was prettier.
One interesting feature was the monk’s fishing house, built in the 15th or 16th century. It’s seated on a platform over a small arch that allows water to flow underneath. There was a trapdoor that allowed the monks to sit with a comfortable fire and wait for dinner to come to them, probably caught in a net. Sort of like a medieval ice fishing shack.
I’ll take things a little out of order here so as to keep the story semi-coherent. We went off to find the stone bridge from the movie (but on the next day). We had googled like crazy trying to find both what it looked like and where it stood today. It was difficult to find because nowhere is there a sign pointing the way or at the location. All we knew was that it was between point A and B. We looked, pondered, dismissed various possibilities, and finally settled that THIS must be the one.
Well, it certainly looked romantic enough. However, further research since coming home seems to indicate we had found another tourist trap. The actual bridge must have been on a minor road that we never found.
Now, about that cottage from the movie. We made our way at the end of the day to our next B&B, the Tiernakill Farmhouse about 6 miles north of Maam Cross and about 30 miles from Cong.
This was again a beautiful, idyllic setting. It’s a modern house, built to be a B&B, and holds about twenty people. Here’s the view from the front.
See that line of trees to the left of the road? As we were getting settled in, I mentioned to our hostess that we were pretty disappointed to find only a replica of the movie cottage when we visited Cong. She laughed and said to come over by the window (view above). She pointed out the trees and a hint of a house that could be seen in them. She told us that the actual cottage and location used in the filming was directly behind the newer farmhouse that we could see. The cottage now was just ruins and nothing really to view. What serendipity to wander all day and then find what you’re looking for outside your front door. We took a shot of the farmhouse as we drove out the next morning, but had to use our imagination for the cottage. Still better than a replica.
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