European film honour for Cong’s Quiet Man Museum

Award presented in Cong

IT was filmed 75 years ago in Cong, Ballyglunin and Connemara, but the iconic film The Quiet Man and its memory is still winning international accolades.

The latest award relating to the timeless classic was for The Quiet Man Museum in Cong, which has been designated as a Treasure of European Film Culture by the European Film Academy.

Announced last year, the award was presented at a ceremony in the museum in Cong on Friday, June 12.

A marquee at the back of the venue was packed to capacity. The village, straddling the Mayo-Galway border, was described at the presentation as the birthplace of the Irish Film Industry, and it became only the second destination in Ireland to get this prestigious European award.

The presentation and official unveiling of the plaque was done by film producer David Collins from Dublin (Samson Films), representing the European Film Academy.

Sadly, only three of the locals who were among the cast of hundreds who acted as extras in the film 75 years ago were able to attend the award presentation, but all three – Eileen Lydon, Brendan Farragher and John Joe Mullins – spoke about how much the film meant back then, and still does to this border area of Galway and Mayo.

Retired University of Galway academic, Professor Des McHale from Castlebar, told those in attendance that he has watched The Quiet Man over 500 times, since he first saw it “as a child five nights-in-a-row” when on holidays in Enniscrone with his parents in 1953.

The museum in the village, open daily for visitors, contains many artefacts from the original film set plus a replica of the interior of the White O’Morn’ cottage as seen in the Hollywood blockbuster.

The award from the European Film Academy has curated the registry to protect and celebrate locations with exceptional symbolic significance to global cinema history. The Academy establishes this initiative to help safeguard these vital locations, landscapes, and institutions for future generations.

The designation means the Quiet Man Museum joins an elite international roster, standing alongside legendary cinematic landmarks like Austria’s Felsenreitschule Theatre (famous from The Sound of Music where the Von Trapp family perform before their daring escape) and Rome’s Trevi Fountain (immortalised in Federico Fellini La Dolce Vita).

The President Michael D. Higgins sent a lengthy letter to the curates of The Quiet Man Museum in Cong, the Collins family, on the announcement of the award last year, praising them for perpetuating the memory of The Quiet Man film and promoting tourism in this area.

The former President extended his warmest congratulations to Gerry, Margaret, and their daughter Lisa Collins, who have dedicated so much of their time to promoting Cong’s cinematic heritage since 1985.

“'The Quiet Man, a film that has long held a cherished place in the Irish and international imagination in captivating generations with its rich evocation of landscape, language and longing,” noted former President Higgins in an official statement.

“It is a tribute, too, to your own enduring stewardship of memory, place, and cultural inheritance.

“Your museum, with its careful preservation of the original artefacts and evocative recreation of the film’s spirit, serves as a testament to the enduring power of storytelling, and to the profound capacity of film to capture and reflect identity and place.

“The recognition by the European Film Academy affirms this work as being not just of national significance, but of European cultural value as well.”

Lisa Collins introduced the various speakers at the awards ceremony, which included public representatives, as well as members of community and artistic groups from Galway and Mayo.

Among the attendees was the current Lord Killanin, Redmond Morris, son of the late Lord Killanin, and Michael Morris, former President of the International Olympic Committee who selected the Galway locations for the producer of The Quiet Man, John Forde.

The Rev. Dianne Matchett, Church of Ireland Dean for the area, gave a blessing and apologised for the absence of Fr. Declan Carroll who could not attend the event.