Map of Cong, Ireland, the Inisfree of ‘The Quiet Man’

Before a trip to Ireland last month, I searched the Internet in vain for a decent map of Cong, the village where John Ford filmed “The Quiet Man,” one of my favorite films. The maps are sketchy or unusable, as if we’re not supposed to find “the way to Inisfree.”

For Cong, Google maps show a false street name, a misplaced county line and no detail. Very mysterious.

So when I visited Cong on Sept. 13, I took some notes. For all of you “Quiet Man” crazies planning your own trip to the imaginary Inisfree of Connemara, here’s my map of Cong with a few hints at where you’ll find the movie’s most familiar locations.

My map is your map. Feel free to copy it, transmit it, print it, hand it out by the score. And if it guides you to the bar in Cohan’s pub, tell them Frank sent you.

Frank Warner

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Click on the map for a larger version. (This might be temporary.) The map may suddenly look smaller, but click it again, and it should be large.

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“QUIET MAN” SCENES ON THE MAP OF CONG:

Cohan’s. That’s the Pat Cohan Bar at the northwest corner of Main Street and Abbey Street. It’s where we saw Sean Thornton enter Inisfree with Michaeleen Oge Flynn, where Sean and Mary Kate Danaher passed on a tandem bicycle, and where Sean’s big fight scene with Will Danaher ended.

Clarke’s. The pub across Main Street from Cohan’s. Cong’s market cross stands in the middle of Main Street, beween Cohan’s and Clarke’s.

Curran’s. The P. Curran pub was supposed to be in Castletown, five miles (“and maybe a half more”) from Inisfree. On the east side of Main Street at the end of Riverview, Curran’s is where Will Danaher drank outside with his farmhands after auctioning his sheep. Today it is the Fennel Seed Restaurant, connected to Ryan’s Hotel.

O’Connor’s. Emily O’Connor’s shop was behind Mary Kate and Sean as they pulled into Castletown in their horsedrawn trap (buggy) and saw Will Danaher across the street at Curran’s. O'Connor’s actually is a block north of Curran’s, on the same side of the street. O’Connor’s remains, but the old attractive sign is gone.

Dying man’s house. This is three houses in from the west end of Riverview, on the north side of the street. It’s where old Dan Tobin lay dying until the excitement over the Sean Thornton-Will Danaher fight brought him out of his bed and into the street.

Bishop’s car route. This is along the Cong River at the southern section of Circular Road, where the Anglican bishop was hailed by local Catholics cheering “like Protestants” in the movie’s finale. Driven by the Rev. Mr. Cyril Playfair, the bishop’s car went north, followed by Michaeleen Flynn’s horsedrawn jaunting car carrying Will Danaher and Sarah Tillane.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Toward the northern end of Church Road, it’s where we saw Sean and Mary Kate inside Inisfree’s Catholic church. In the low light of artist Harry Clarke’s stained-glass windows, John Ford slowed the camera speed to film here.

St. Mary’s Church of Ireland. At the south end of Church Road, this Protestant church served as the movie’s Catholic church exterior. With its steeple in the distance, we saw Inisfree women walk to Mass as children ran across Corcoran’s Field. At a font outside the church door, Sean offered Mary Kate a handful of holy water.

Lonergan’s fishing hole. On the west side of the Cong River, this is where Sean and Mary Kate did some “walking together” during their courtship. It’s also where Father Peter Lonergan was fishing for salmon when Mary Kate stopped to ask for marital advice “in the Irish.”

Ashford Castle. The castle, where much of the cast stayed during the making of “The Quiet Man,” is not in the movie, except in the opening titles. However, when Sean first saw Mary Kate, she was herding sheep on what is the third fairway of the castle golf course. The third fairway is just east of where this map ends.

Widow Tillane’s house. Sarah Tillane’s house, which was across the Cong River from Ashford Castle, has been demolished to make room for a car park -- that is, a parking lot. It's in an area called Strandhill, the hill over the river shore (strand).

The Playfairs’ house. It’s not shown on the map, but it’s across Church Road from St. Mary’s Catholic Church and along the stream. Not only did the Rev. Mr. Cyril Playfair and his wife, Elizabeth, live here, but Sean and Mary Kate borrowed the Playfairs’ tandem bicycle that sat outside.

OFF THE MAP: Danaher’s house. Will Danaher’s house, where Mary Kate lived before her marriage to Sean, is just southwest of the southwest corner of this map.

 

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See also: ‘The Quiet Man’ soundtrack: Victor Young’s music for a happy St. Patrick’s Day.

See also: ‘The Quiet Man’ and the secret of the wedding toast to freedom.

See also: ‘The Quiet Man’: Maureen O’Hara and Ward Bond speak the Irish.

See also: ‘Connemara Days’ and ‘The Dead Republic’: Fiction revives John Ford’s summer of ‘The Quiet Man.’

And note: In the movie, “Inisfree” has only one “N.”

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This is a map of Cong in 1838, a dozen years before the Guinness beer family tried to build a canal from Lough Mask on the north to Lough Corrib to the south. The local joke is that water runs under, over and around Cong, but it never ran through the Cong Canal. County Mayo's limestone just absorbs the water, and it would have been too expensive to build a canal that didn't leak. So 160 years later, the canal just sits there, doing nothing.

You can see a bit of the abandoned canal in the first map, between Corcoran's Field and the golf course.

Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. Look at them as twin lakes. Only the tip of Lough Corrib is shown in these maps. Corrib is so large it contains 365 islands, one for each day of the year.

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Comments

[Frances Redmond]

Many thanks for this map and info. I'm taking my dad to Cong to see the locations -and information is scarce.

[Frank Warner]

Frances, I'll be there, too, in a few days.

[PConboy]

God Love you Frank Warner. This is exactly what I was looking to find. Cant' wait to spend some time in Cong and remember those lovely characters of Inisfree.

[Frank Warner]

PConboy, take that trip to Connemara and enjoy.

[Anne Bullerwell]

This is just what my husband and I have been looking for! We're huge fans of the film and have been trawling the internet and old film books looking for information about the film's locations. Your map and added detail will be so much help to us on our first visit to 'Inisfree'. By the looks of your map, 'Why it's just a good stretch of the legs!'
Thanks again,
Anne and David Bullerwell

[Frank Warner]

Great, Anne! I hope you and your husband have fun. I'll be in Ireland in a few weeks, but I'm not sure I'll have a chance to visit Cong this time.

In any case, when you go, make sure you have a Guinness at Pat Cohan's Bar. The sad news: Its wonderful owners have put the pub up for sale. So if you want to stay, offer to buy the place!

Frank

[Annette Hoffman]

Thank you, Frank, for your map! My husband and I just spent a few days in Ireland, and your map was very useful! I, too, am a big "Quiet Man" fan, and wanted a map of the area.
Annette

[Annette Hoffman]

Frank, I suggested this post on my most recent blog entry. :o)
http://annettehoffman.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/the-quiet-mans-ireland-day-2-or-a-day-fit-for-a-quiet-man-crazy/

[John Hampson]

I just returned from Cong this past March. What a treat to se these venues. The town has not changed much and I only wish we could have spent a few more days in the area! This means we have to plan another trip!!

[Barbara Mister]

Do you know where the cottage Sean and Mary Kate lived in after they were married is located?? Wondering if it still exists or was just a Hollywood set.

[Frank Warner]

Barbara, that would be White O'Morn' cottage, which is in ruins about 12 miles west of Cong, at Failmore River. A few Irish groups have been campaigning to have the cottage restored, but the campaign moves ever-so-slowly. The exterior shots of "The Quiet Man" were filmed there. The interior shots were filmed in Hollywood.

[Narelle Krause]

Thank you Frank my favourite film as well, heading to Ireland in October.
So three cheers for your information

Narelle

[Susan Harding]

Thanks Frank. This just what I needed for my visit to Cong. None of my tour guide books have anything like this.

[Frank Warner]

You're welcome! Take lots of photographs!

[Lou Anguiano]

In your trips to Ireland, would you be stopping for a peek in Tullamore, another town from films in Ireland. "Waking Ned Devine" would be on my list of locations my wife and I would like to visit.

[Narelle Krause]

I drove to Cong on my own I just loved this little place so beautiful and quaint
I loved Ireland and shall return to see more next year 2020

[Ed Dillio]

If you love the movie, you must get the special fifth edition. In the beginning of the DVD, you can choose Maureen narrating the film as it plays. Lots of info.