I’ve visited Ireland four times. The first was in 1990 when we went on our honeymoon. The last was 2000 when we took two of our daughters.
When we went the first time it was an adventure. We had made a general itinerary, but didn’t really know where things were, how long it would take to get between places, and what to expect with driving on the left side of the road!
On our second day there we drove from Limerick to Galway. By the time we had seen enough of Galway, we still had to drive a little more north to Cong, the main filming location for “The Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
By the time we arrived at our B&B, it was evening. The owner welcomed us and politely asked if we were hungry. Knowing we probably were, she recommended a small restaurant and pub in nearby Neale, about 5 km away. She wasn’t completely surprised that this was the prime reason we came to the area.
She promoted the place as being owned by the man who was the double for John Wayne in the film. We were hungry and tired, but when we heard this we just had to go that evening. So we did.
When we got there, we went to the restaurant side. A large man came in from the adjoining bar and welcomed us. This was Joe Mellotte. With gray-white hair, he didn’t look much like Wayne in the front, but he had the build. He “forced” us to each have a draft Guinness from the tap and took our dinner orders.
While dinner was being made, Joe told us of his time in the movie. He often would play some of the long shots, but his favorites were the horse race and the final scenes with the rambling fight over the countryside.
We ate in the rear restaurant area. The food was delicious. To this day, one of the best meals we have ever had. We went back the next night. We each had our pictures taken with him.
We went back in 1997 and took our two youngest, both teens at the time. They got to meet Joe. But by the time we returned in 1998 for a co-worker’s wedding, he had died.
Our final visit to the area in 2000 was bittersweet. Joe was not there of course, but the area had been so commercialized one-way streets had to be put in where the horse cart in the movie was parked.
To read more about Joe Mellotte and the film, go to this Reel Classics site.
I almost forgot. The last night in Ireland on our 1990 trip we stayed in a small B&B overlooking the Shannon Airport. We wanted to be close for an early departure.
At breakfast, we found out from our wonderful hostess that Maureen O’Hara and she were best friends. It seems that both of their husbands were pilots and had often flown together. Maureen would always stop and see her when she came to Ireland.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there that day.
(Verdana 12)
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