'The Quiet Man' pub replicated by fans

A replica of the original pub that featured in 'The Quiet Man' film has been built by fans in Co Mayo.

Pat Cohan's in Cong was actually a shop in real life but Hollywood director John Ford converted it into a bar for the Oscar-winning 1952 movie starring John Wayne.

Locals painstakingly studied stills of scenes featuring the bar and carefully assembled a replica with all the fittings, fixtures and ornaments of the time.

Antique shops across the country were scoured for stainless steel ale mugs, trinkets and old-style advertising posters.

The pub is owned by John Connolly, whose uncle Jack Murphy was an extra in the film, which was shot in scenic locations in Co Mayo and Co Galway.

The bars hosts daily re-runs of the film DVD, and is situated next door to a souvenir shop.

Mr Connolly said: "Tourists, especially Americans, who came to see where the film was shot were always disappointed when they heard the pub didn't actually exist in real life."

"Now they will be able to have a drink just like John Wayne did in the film or browse the souvenirs," he added.

'The Quiet Man' tells the story of US prize-fighter Jack Thornton (Wayne) who returns to his roots in Ireland and falls in love with the fiery redhead, Mary Kate Danaher, played by Irish actress Maureen O'Hara.

Pat Cohan's pub features prominently in the film, including the climax of the four-minute fight scene when Wayne sends Mary Kate's brother, Red Will Danaher, crashing through the front door. O'Hara never appears in the pub.

To mark the official opening on September 17, the pub wants to run a look-alike competition, of the Michaeleen character (played by Barry Fitzgerald).

Michaeleen is the pipe-smoking matchmaker who brings Wayne and O'Hara together and spends most of the film supping stout in Pat Cohan's.