Mayo's Quiet Man Museum designated Treasure of European Film Culture
ON the 75th anniversary of the filming of The Quiet Man in Cong, the European Film Academy is officially inaugurating The Quiet Man Museum as a Treasure of European Film Culture.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, June 12, at 4.30 p.m. on the museum grounds.
Since 2015, the European Film Academy has curated the Treasures of European Film Culture registry to protect and celebrate locations with exceptional symbolic significance to global cinema history. With this designation, 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's La Dolce Vita). The Academy establishes this initiative to help safeguard these vital locations, landscapes, and institutions for future generations.
On hearing of the designation, former President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins extended his warmest congratulations to Gerry, Margaret and Lisa Collins - the local family who have dedicated their lives to promoting Cong's cinematic heritage since 1985.
In a statement, he noted: "This singular honour is a recognition of the cinematic legacy of 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.
“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. May I express my deepest admiration and gratitude for all you have done to honour this legacy and to share it with the world."
The Quiet Man remains a massive tourism driver, drawing thousands of international visitors to the west of Ireland annually. It holds a deeply sentimental place for the Irish diaspora, for whom the film serves as a traditional holiday viewing staple and a visual bridge to their ancestral home.
Guided location tours and museum visits in Cong have become bucket-list experiences for global travellers.
The romantic vision of Ireland captured in the movie won two Academy Awards - John Ford for Best Director and Winton C. Hoch for Best Cinematography. Leading lady Maureen O’Hara, who starred alongside John Wayne and Barry Fitzgerald, famously remarked that 'Ireland was the real star of The Quiet Man'.
The official commemorative plaque will be unveiled at 4.30 p.m. by film producer David Collins on behalf of the Academy, alongside local Councillor Damien Ryan. The absolute guests of honour will be the four remaining local villagers who personally participated in the 1951 production, offering a living link to John Ford's masterpiece.