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Director John Ford and actor John Wayne are best known for their cowboy collaborations. But this muted movie, 70 years later, is still an undisputed classic and essential St Patrick’s Day viewing for those who celebrate around the world. Why? Well, not only is it a great film, but The Quiet Man filming locations in Ireland are top-notch, too.
John Wayne is the titular character, Sean Thornton. After a boxing tragedy, Sean moves back to the home country in search of a peaceful life. He meets the freckled and flame-haired Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara) but a dispute with her brother makes their relationship difficult.
Ford shot some scenes, mostly interior ones, at the Republic Studios in Los Angeles. But one of the reasons why The Quiet Man continues to stand the test of time is the authentic and beautiful locations. So, want to know exactly where that John Wayne movie set in Ireland filmed? Let’s take a look! I’ve provided a The Quiet Man location map so you can visit the places in person, too.
Where Was The Quiet Man Filmed?
The Quiet Man Filming Locations in Ireland
1. Ballyglunin Railway Station, County Galway
The very first The Quiet Man filming location is a corker. Sean pulls up in a steam train at Castletown, which is fictional. In reality, the train station is Ballyglunin Railway Station in County Galway.
The station is tiny and no longer in use, but it is such a popular tourist attraction that it is still open to fans! And the big green “Castletown” sign still stands proud on the platform. This filming locations nerd fully respects this level of dedication.
2. Quiet Man Bridge, County Galway
But, how can I be sure that this is the Quiet Man Bridge? Because it is called the Quiet Man Bridge! Yes, like James Bond Island, some things become so synonymous with popular culture that they demand notoriety. On his way from Castletown Railway Station to his hometown of Inisfree, Sean hops off his horse and cart while on a cobblestone bridge to admire the landscape in County Galway.
Two things: I need to express how happy I am that John Ford hired actual Irish actors for many of the supporting roles. I just do not think I could cope with listening to that many awful fake accents. I don’t know why actors struggle to mimic Irish, but they do.
And second, Sean’s hometown is the fictional Inisfree, not the real Isle of Innisfree in County Sligo.
3. Ashford Castle, Cong, County Galway
As Michaeleen Flynn chats with Father Lonergan, Sean spots a beautiful ginger lady herding sheep in a field. And who can blame him, eh? It is, of course, Maureen O’Hara as Mary Kate Danaher. She is herding sheep on what is now the third fairway of a golf course. It is part of the 13th-century Ashford Castle estate in Cong, County Galway on the border of County Mayo. The castle’s estate is one of the most prolific The Quiet Man film locations, though the castle itself only appeared in the opening credits.
Ashford Castle is now a luxury hotel. Most of the cast and crew stayed here during filming.
When Sean and Mary Kate first start courting halfway through the movie, Michaeleen drives them across the Ashford Castle Bridge and drops them off near Father Lonergan’s salmon fishing spot, which I’ve pinned on the map. Their tandem bike ride is probably through some of the castle grounds, too.
4. Pat Cohan’s Gastro Pub, Cong, County Mayo
The Quiet Man locations get better and better. Having just arrived in Inisfree, Michaeleen takes him to the local pub for a cold one. It is Pat Cohan Bar which is still there today! From the outside, it looks no different. It is located on Main Street in Cong, County Mayo. Literally just down the road from Ashford Castle.
5. St Mary’s Church of Ireland, Cong, County Mayo
Sean attends Father Lonergan’s 7 o’clock mass as he promised to pay respects to Sean’s deceased mother. The exterior is St Mary’s Church also in Cong, County Mayo.
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6. St Mary of the Rosary Catholic Church, Cong, County Mayo
It’s a little amusing that the exterior of the church is the local protestant church and the interior is the local catholic one. And they both have the same name! St Mary of the Rosary Catholic Church had such a stunning stained glass window, but the outside is in ruins. So, I understand why they chose a different church for the exterior of this The Quiet Man film location.
7. Strandhill House, Cong, County Mayo
Determined to buy back his childhood home, Sean pays a visit to the lady who now owns the house. Widow Tillane is rich and lives in a beautiful white cottage with a rather grand emerald interior. The inside is so obviously a studio set because it is way too lavish for rural Ireland in the 1920s, even if the owners did have the cash to spare. And the ceilings look 12ft high! It’s supposed to be a COTTAGE.
Widow Tillane lives in Strandhill House opposite Ashford Castle overlooking the river. Unfortunately, the house does not exist anymore and the pin on the Google Map at the top of the post will take you to the car park that sits in its place. Though considering how old the film is, it is amazing seeing The Quiet Man locations then and now. So many are still knocking about.
8. The Quiet Man Cottage, County Galway
Sean manages to win around the villagers of Inisfree by buying everyone a pint of porter. That really is all it takes to get people onside, isn’t it? Just buy people drinks. Then, Michaeleen escorts Sean to his new/old home, White O’Morn Cottage. Such an idyllic house with its thatched roof, flower beds and cosy fireplace. Unfortunately, this is one of the only The Quiet Man filming locations that has not stood the test of time.
White O’Morn or The Quiet Man Cottage location is just off the R336 near Teernakill North in County Galway (don’t worry, it is pinned on Google Maps). It is a glorified pile of rubble but the concrete bridge that the men walk over is still there, though.
And if you are really keen, you can visit The Quiet Man Replica Cottage in Lurgan, County Galway. I imagine someone decided it would be a good business to create a replica after one too many disappointed fans visited the real one. It is on the grounds of the Peacockes Hotel.
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9. Quiet Man – Squire Danaher House, Ashford, County Galway
Bless every single soul who submitted one of The Quiet Man locations to Google Maps. You make my job so easy. After Sean spontaneously kisses Mary Kate in his cottage, he sends Michaeleen to stand outside of the Danaher House to announce his intentions to start courting Mary Kate. The house is located just southwest of Ashford Castle in the village of Ashford, and the cottage is 100% still there.
There is even a plaque that reads “Quite Man House 1951” on the front wall.
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10. Lettergesh Beach, Connemara, County Galway
A bit random, but Sean enters the Inisfree Cup horse race? Because for some reason it an essential part of Sean and Michaeleen’s trick against Will Danaher so he will allow Sean and Mary Kate’s marriage? Personally, I do not understand this scene! Regardless, The Quiet Man location for this scene is Lettergesh Beach in Connemara, County Galway. Though John Ford definitely shot parts of the scene in the studio.
11. Friary of Ross, County Galway
Danaher decides to let Sean and Mary Kate start courting. Michaeleen, as the local matchmaker, is their escort. He sits them on opposite sides of the horse and cart and transports them through the countryside. He points out the ” home of the ancient Flynns”, meaning his ancestral home.
In reality, it is the oldest catholic monastery in Ireland dating back to the 1300s called the Friary of Ross in County Galway.
12. Quiet Man – Reverend Playfair House, Cong, County Galway
Sean and Mary Kate manage to give Michaeleen the slip by hopping on Reverend Playfair and his wife’s tandem bike. Their cottage is in Cong, County Mayo just opposite St Mary’s Church, the Catholic version. Another gorgeous cottage that is still there 70 years later!
13. Thoor Ballylee Yeats Tower, County Galway
The pair pause a moment to admire the scenery on their tandem bike ride. Mary Kate decides to throw caution to the wind, strip off her stockings and run across a river. What a wild, out of control, feisty redhead she is! The Quiet Man filming location is Thoor Ballylee in County Galway. It is an old castle from the 1400s once owned by the famous poet William Butler Yeats. Partially restored in the 1960s, Thoor Ballylee is now a Yeats museum and resembles how it may have looked when the poet lived there.
Honestly, I am just super impressed by The Quiet Man filming locations. Just when you think they’ve done a pretty good job, you find out John Ford only went and bloody filmed at Yeats’s old joint.
14. Puddleducks Café, Cong, County Mayo
Sean and Mark Kate marry and he surprises her with a new horse and cart before taking a trip to nearby Castletown. When they arrive, they have to stop in front of a tea room called Emily O’Connor’s which is actually just Cong, County Mayo up the same road as Pat Cohan Bar. Today, it is a café called Puddleducks Café.
15. Fennel Seed Restaurant, Ryan’s Hotel, Cong, County Mayo
Mary Kate looks across the road and spies her brother in Castletown drinking with farmhands outside a pub called P. Curran Pub. This pub is also located on Main Street in Cong but is slightly further down the road. So in reality, Mary Kate wouldn’t have been able to see him from across the road. A little bit of cinema trickery! It is now the Fennel Seed Restaurant and is part of Ryan’s Hotel.
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16. Connemara National Park, County Galway
I can’t tell you exactly where, but Mary Kate abandons Sean in Castletown so he has to walk the 5 miles back to Inisfree. It’s not all bad because he gets to walk through the beautiful Connemara National Park on his way.
17. Green and White House, Riverview, Cong, County Mayo
To teach her a lesson for threatening to leave him, Sean (literally) drags Mary Kate from Castletown Railway Station (not a massive fan of this scene tbh) to her brother’s house to deliver his ultimatum. Either Will Danaher gives him the dowry, or he can have his sister back.
The two men resort to fisticuffs. This is, naturally, the most entertainment the town of Inisfree has had in years. A dying man called Dan Tobin is roused from his death bed in the Green and white house (third house from the west side) on Riverview in Cong to watch the fight.
The Quiet Man Museum, Tours & Giftshop in Cong, County Mayo
If you do plan on making the pilgrimage to The Quiet Man filming locations in Ireland, be sure to hit up The Quiet Man Museum in Cong. The building is also a small replica of the White O’Morn Cottage complete with a thatched roof and emerald green door. They have a statue of John Wayne carrying Maureen O’Hara as well as some of the movie posters, costumes and props.
You can also enquire about private tours at the museum because I don’t believe they run regularly scheduled public ones. Or, you can hire a car and venture on your own filming locations tour by using this blog post and map!
And those are all The Quiet Man filming locations in Ireland! Have you watched the movie or visited any of The Quiet Man locations? Let me know in the comments below!
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I’m here in Cong right now with my family !
We have just had an amazing lunch in Pat Mohans !
Thanks for this guide, I saw ” the dying man’s cottage” and thought it must be significant, now I know why ! I saw the movie about 40 years ago but will definitely watch it again. Cong and surrounding areas are just stunning. The Sky road in Connemara is so dramatic and rugged. It’s easy to see why they chose this area to film in.
Highly recommend a holiday here. Go through the church for fabulous walks in the woods right from the centre of Cong.
Thanks so much for your comment, Gary! Glad you had a great time in Cong! 😀
“The name is Cohans”. We were just in there two weeks ago. I had a glass of “the black beer” behind the bar.
Thank you so much for this! The Quiet Man is one of my favorite films – along with The Ghost and Mrs Muir – old films are the best! We are going on our “bucket list” trip in October 2023 and will get to see the locations for myself. Your map will be so helpful on our drive!
Aw I’m so glad you found my guide useful, Linda – I hope you have the best time in Ireland!!
Hi Rebecca,
We were in Cong in July of 2016 and plan to go back in August of 2023. We want to see more of the film’s locations. Can you recommend a map or book that will help us find these?
Thank you.
Hi David! Do you mean apart from this blog post which lists all of the filming locations and has a map at the beginning? 😀 However, there is a walking tour of The Quiet Man locations which you can find out more about here – https://www.getyourguide.co.uk/cong-ireland-l164169/ireland-the-quiet-man-museum-and-film-location-guided-tour-t414467/
Maybe the tour guide will help give you directions to some of the other locations too?
Hello, Amazing to see a 70 years old film is still such appreciated woldwide. I will follow the locations you recommend during my next trip. Many thanks for this job done and shared. Best regards and wishes from a French fan.
Thanks so much for your comment! It is absolutely incredible, isn’t it?! I hope you have a fantastic time when you visit! All the best, Rebecca
I am going back to Ireland in Sept 2022 and planned on touring these locations. So I googled looking for info, and found your site.. perfect. Thank you so much.
Thanks for your comment, John! I’m really glad I could help and I hope you have an amazing trip! 😀
Rebecca, Thanks for the great job posting this great information about one of the best films to come out of Hollywood. I’ve always wondered how this film was received in Ireland since so much of it was shot locally and used many Irish people in the movie. I look forward to coming over to visit this beautiful country and spending time with her great people!
Thanks so much for your comment, Trevor! It’s a great film and it’s amazing that so many of the locations still exist today. I hope you get to see them someday! 😀
Hi there from Castlepollard, Westmeath Ireland.
Love the movie.
I’ve ran through Maam during the Connemara marathon.
Connemarathon!!!
Held in April….
Just curious about one thing.
Where was the inside the pub scenes filmed?
Hi Joe! Thanks for your comment, I believe that most of the interior scenes were shot in studios but I’m sure some might’ve been filmed in the venues themselves. The trouble is that while the exteriors of some of these locations probably haven’t changed, most of them will look totally different!
I was sitting in the Kylemore Pass hotel in the Connemara when I read your blog. I have been a fan of the Quiet Man since I was a kid and I knew it was filmed in this area. I knew our time was very tight but I got my friends talked into driving to the Quiet Man bridge.i got several pictures and even helped another gentlemen with his pics. I owe this to you and thank you.
Thanks so much for your comment, Tom! I’m SO pleased you managed to visit one of the iconic locations from the film! And one of my absolute favourite things is helping other people take their travel photos, fills me with all the warm fuzzies 😀
Hello! We are just back from a 2-week-long trip to Ireland and we stopped in Cong. The ‘Green and White House’ – ‘The dying man house’ now has two signs on it, reading ‘Dying Man House.’ I can send you my photo.
Upon our return to Ohio we had to watch “The Quiet Man,” a film my wife never seen.
Thanks so much for your comment, Rob! I absolutely LOVE that there’s a sign on The Dying Man’s house, that’s such a cool idea and I love it when filming locations do this! 😀
Hi. I was brought up loving John Wayne. When I was 18 I worked night shifts, And if a John Wayne Movie was on TV I never went into work. My Mum would say you have seen this 99 times, I replyed well be 100 tonight. Night after when I went into work the foreman would ask me where was I last Night. I said wasn’t feeling well. He Turned to me and said, You mean John Wayne was on TV Last night lol. In 2019 I went to stay in Cong and look for all the Locations, Was so much fun when we found them and emotional and said to my Partner I have done it with a tear in my eyes.. 2022 boked to go back and Can’t wait.. I’m 71 now and still a Mad fan of John Wayne.
Wow, Thomas… You sure do love John Wayne haha! I’m glad you loved the filming locations so much that you wanted to see them twice! 😀
Thanks for this. The Quiet Man is my favorite movie and I love reading about it and the locations at which it was filmed. One thing though, in the movie – Sarah Tillane lived in a very large house. It was multiple stories and quite grand. It could easily have had high ceilings. It was clearly not a cottage. After all, she was the wealthiest woman in Innisfree.
Hi Dan! Thank you so much for your comment, The Quiet Man locations are amazing because so many still exist after so long!
Your comment about Sarah Tillane’s house got me curious because I really couldn’t remember what the exterior looked like. But in my comment, I’m clearly very adamant it was a cottage haha. So, I went back and re-watched this part of the film to see it for myself. We can see the exterior and, to me, it’s a two-story cottage! It has very, very low ceilings (from what you can tell by the distance of the windows) and a literal thatched roof. Yes, it’s a big cottage, but I have to disagree with you because to me, it’s still a cottage. You can go back and see the cottage for yourself, the exterior is visible around 15 minutes into the film 😀
No worries, we obviously have two different definitions of “cottage”. The fact that it is two stories kind of suggests that it isn’t a cottage (in my dictionary). Regardless, my point was, since it is two stories part of it could easily have vaulted ceilings and not have a second floor above it.
I think we do! If I do a Google image search for “cottage” you’ll find lots of two-story cottages but it was more the heavily thatched roof that made me call it that in the first place. And my point was that it’s laughably obvious that the interior rooms are not situated in this humble home. It’s one of the things I love about older movies and it makes me smile every time that huge office/drawing room appears on screen 😀
Hi Rebecca, I was wandering around other The Quiet Man sites and found this and thought to myself “Ooo, I need to share this with Almost Ginger!” When watching the movie, I never thought that the first house – obviously a thatched cottage – that the widow passes was the one in front of which she gets out of the carriage. The front walk is different as is the front door and the architecture of the front of her house. Also, her bike is not present at the first house, but it is at the front door when she gets home.
Then I found this website from another fan which has a photo of the actual Widow Tillane’s house before it was torn down. It is definitely the one she gets out of the carriage in front of. The architecture is an exact match. From the looks of it, it could have large rooms in it, like the one shown in the movie. I am interested to hear what you think.
http://johnwayne.byethost3.com/Danagher/tillane.htm
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the follow-up comment, I’ve never had so many comments from one person about one location! The Widow Tillane’s cottage interiors were 100% shot in a studio, I don’t know what else to tell you. The windows seen on the exterior and the windows as seen in the interior are totally different sizes and shapes and there appears to be many, many more windows from the interior shots than there is from the exterior. Hope that helps, happy watching! 😀
Thanks for a wonderful well written synopsis of the filming locations. I own the film on Laser Disc and saw it at the local theater last night for a special St Patrick Day showing. I had never seen it on the big screen. What a treat.
Map in hand, now its time to book a flight to Ireland.
Ahh thank you so much for your kind words, Greg! That sounds like a great experience, it’s a brilliant film and most of the locations are virtually unchanged all these years later so I hope you can visit them! 😀
“The Quiet Man” has always been one of my favorite John Wayne movies and we’ll be traveling to Ireland from California, USA, next month. We’ll be stopping in Cong on our driving tour just to see “The Quiet Man” filming locations. Thanks for writing this up, we’ll use it as our guide.
Thanks so much for your comment, Frank! I’m so happy you liked my guide and I hope you have the best time in Ireland! 😀
I saw this film when I was a young boy with my
Grandmother, and have watched it many times
since then. I am now 82 years old in July and have
to admit it is still on my to do list to visit. I hope I
live long enough to manage it😄. Exce write up
thank you.
Thank you for sharing that, Alan! 😀 I hope you do get to see the locations soon, one of the great things about The Quiet Man locations is that so many of them haven’t changed much.
The Quiet Man was my mom’s favorite movie. She was a John Wayne fan, but this was her favorite. I have ancestors who lived in Galway County, in Kerry County, actually all up the west coast of Ireland in all the places in this film (and some in Leap Year–saw your pictures from that one, too). English, Irish, French and German. You did a nice job.
Thanks so much for your comment, Lynn! That’s amazing – yes there are quite a few films set in Ireland that make the most of the beautiful countryside 😀
Thank you Rebecca for such a comprehensive shooting location post! We just finished (re) watching The Quiet Man and I was curious to see if when we were in the Ashford/Cong area a number of years ago if we saw many of the sites (knew of the movie but had not seen it yet). Scrolling through photos from our trip while we were watching the film we did see the main house in Cong (now red, white painted trim with an enclosed front entry way added).
I’m a movie location “nerd” and you’re taking that to the next level – so cool! I’m always wondering where things were shot, and look them up. Sometimes I’ve been to them (esp in the US) – and always kind of disappointed when they are shot in a different location…i.e. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was shot in Texas but is supposed to take place in my home state of Iowa…..errr ) :
Anyway – Thanks and keep up the great work and search out those locations!
Thanks so much for your comment, Greg! Ahh that’s a fantastic coincidence, it’s incredible for a film so old that so many of the locations are still intact. It is disappointing when a completely different place stands in for another place. For me, it’s Ireland standing in for Scotland when Braveheart is such a Scottish story! But it needs to happen sometimes I suppose. Thank you – let me know if you have any requests for future location guides! 😀
Enjoyed your blog! Went to Cong, but had never seen the movie and was surprised to see our beloved John Wayne all over. Learned a bit about it, but wasn’t until I got back home that I watched the movie on AmazonPrime. Googled filming locations and found your fun site. Thanks for your work. =) Kim South Florida, USA
Thanks so much for your comment, Kim! It’s amazing how many of the filming locations still exist and it’s a great film 😀
thouroughly enjoyed read and hope to get to area one of these years soon
Thank you so much! I hope you get to see the locations soon, too!
Thank you so much again for the wonderful pictures!!!!! The quiet man is just one of the best movies of all times!!!!!!
Hi Linda, thanks so much for your comment! It’s a great film and we’re lucky so many of the filming locations are still there 😀
Thank you Rebecca, for the fantastic article, pictures AND map of the locations from the movie ” The Quiet Man ” I have been to Ireland twice and it is on my bucket list to go again The people of Ireland are so friendly and welcoming, if I could, I would go there to live The countryside is so beautiful, though I have not had the pleasure of seeing it when the heather is in bloom The idea of renting a car and traveling to these sites is so very spot on Although, I would probably hire a driver to avoid driving on the wrong side of the road since I am from Maryland, USA Thanks again for the wonderful article and memories it provoked ( please forgive the lack of periods, computer key is broken )
Thanks so much for your comment Mary, I’m pleased you liked my blog post! 🙂 I agree, the countryside and the people in Ireland are fantastic! I’d love to return again soon!
I was always told that the Court Room scene was filmed in Dermot O’Connors in Ballinrobe. My dad recognises some of the crowd in the scene. And my mum made the wedding dress worn by Maureen O’Hara although she was never paid!!
Hey Kevin! Thanks so much for sharing – those are awesome tidbits about the film, that’s so interesting! Though you’ll have to help me out here, whereabouts is the courtroom scene in The Quiet Man? I don’t remember there being one but I know I could be wrong because I haven’t watched the film that many times.
Do you know, Rebecca, I have no idea why I wrote that! The scene was clearly in my head!! There is a 1971 film called The Flight of the Doves which WAS filmed in Ballinrobe so perhaps that’s where I got the notion from.
Ahhh I do that all the time! 😀
In response to Derek she controlled him. I’m a woman I know😁😁😁
Ehhh, I’m a woman… and a man literally dragging his partner through fields to teach her lesson makes me a little uncomfortable. But you have to consider the time they were made when you watch films, it’s still a wonderful movie in my opinion! 🙂
Every film that was done with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara are perfect!
This is awesome! I’m watching the Quiet Man right now for the 50th time.!! A little exaggerated 😁. It is such a wonderful film!!! Thanks for the tour! It was awesome!
Haha it is an awesome film and whether or not it’s 50 I’m sure you’re well ahead of my viewing tally! Glad you enjoyed the post 😀
Hi Rebecca, I was a guide with The Quiet Man Museum in Cong. The photo you have of St. Mary’s RC Church is actually St. James’s Church. St. Mary’s was across the road beside the abbey. It was knocked down and a more modern church built on the site.
Thanks so much for your comment and for letting me know! I found this photo by searching for the church’s name in Flickr and this photo came up so I just assumed it was the right one. My bad!
This is a really great article. The Quiet Man is one of my all time favorites.
I agree with you that the trip from the Railroad Station to town could have been a little less degrading to Mary Kate but the mindset of “controlling” a woman was and is a very real thing.
Thank you so much for this Blog.
Hi Derek, thanks a lot for your comment! You’re right, The Quiet Man is a brilliant film 🙂 Ahh not 100% sure what you mean but of course you’ve got to look at the films of yesteryear within the timeframe and point of views they were made in. I hope no one would treat any woman, “controlling” or not, like that on film or in real life today 🙂