Cohan’s Quiet Man bar opens

Cohan’s Quiet Man bar open for business in Cong


Michael Commins

PAT Cohan’s bar in Cong came to life last week, 57 years after it achieved movie fame in The Quiet Man. For the first time, pints and drinks were dispensed in the venue that gained iconic status in the famous John Ford film which starred John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the lead roles.
The premises, which was a shop run by the Murphy family (Jack and Nancy) in former times, was officially opened as a real Irish pub by Tara McGowran, daughter of Jack McGowran who played the part of Feeney in the film.
The lovely sunshine helped banish the blues of the summer and a fine gathering was present to bid top o’ the morning to John and Fiona Connolly and the rest of the family on their new venture. Soon, together with his brothers Kevin and Jimmy and their families, they were pulling the pints while the wine also flowed freely on this special day.
They were present from different parts of Ireland and England, some from America, and a goodly contingent from Armagh who came down to support John Norton, an 80-year-old man from Mullaghbawn who fulfilled a long-held wish to sing the ‘Isle of Inishfree’ in Cong.
Des MacHale, a Mayo native in exile in Cork, and author of three books on The Quiet Man, said the movie had now achieved academic respectability for the best-loved film of all time. It had been translated into several languages but, to date, there was not a version available in the Irish language.
“I bring you greetings from Maureen O’Hara in Glengarriff in West Cork. Unfortunately, she cannot be with us but she wishes us well. Greetings too from Eddie Gibbons in New York and formerly of Cong, Maureen Coyne-Cashman in New York, Cormac O’Malley, son of Ernie who had associations with The Quiet Man, Bill Maguire from Cross who doubled for John Wayne in the movie and who is now in Missouri, Karl Mazicone of Mainline Pictures in Hollywood, the family of Dick Farrelly who composed the song ‘The Isle of Inishfree’, and Sean Dunphy, former Eurovision singer who sings the song at every opportunity,” said Des.
He also welcomed Liam O’Reilly from Ballina, an expert on the film, Gerry and Margaret Collins from Cong who have done much to promote interest in the movie and its place in local history, John Daly who provided the horses for The Quiet Man and who doubled for Barry Fitzgerald, the family of Joe Mellett from the Neale who stood in for John Wayne, members of the Ryan family, the Murphy family, and Paddy Rock (compere for the ceremony) whom he thanked for his ‘tremendous publicity work’ and interest in all things associated with the movie.
Mr MacHale was highly critical of the Fáilte Ireland for never acknowledging the huge contribution made by the film to the Irish tourism industry over five decades and for failing to support ventures in the region which commemorate the double Oscar nominated film.
Tara McGowran said she was very honoured and happy to be in Cong for the opening ceremony. “It is overwhelming to be here. I love the movie and it is quite something to see it come to life before me today.”
As she and Des MacHale cut the tape, local singer and musician Stephen Murphy led the crowd in a rendition of ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’, a song featured in the movie.
Later, as folks chatted away in the bar, John Joe Mullen, sacristan in Cong, recalled some memories from the time that John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McLaglen, and all the others were in the village. “They were staying in Ashford Castle for five or six weeks. The night porter got ill and I came on in his place. I used to bring Maureen O’Hara breakfast every morning for five weeks. She was a really lovely person. It was a great time for Cong. It brought a lot of excitement to the area,” he said.
A huge amount of work went into recreating a replica of the pub interior with stills being frozen to allow the designers to recreate the authentic look of the bar as known to millions of viewers.
Thanks were extended to Gus Martin and his team at GM Carpentry in Dublin for his expertise in the re-fit of Jack Cohan’s bar.
Paddy Rock, who conducts day trips for Quiet Man enthusiasts around the Mayo and Galway region, said there had been huge interest in the opening of Cohan’s pub. “The famous Cross of Cong is just outside the door on the street. The pub has a special place in the hearts of movie goers and is synonymous with Ireland.
“It will provide a central place for fans of The Quiet Man to come and enjoy a drink and a story. The movie will be showing on a daily basis in the pub and we are already being inundated with enquiries.”