The Quiet Man to speak Irish
Fans of the film The Quiet Man – set in Ireland in 1951 – plan to dub it into the Irish language, it emerged tonight.
The Quiet Man Movie Club, which has 200 members worldwide, are in talks with TG4 and Telegael to get Irish actors to do voice-overs of the dialogue spoken by actors John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
The film has already been translated into 12 languages including French, German, Russian and Japanese – but never Irish.
Author Des McHale, who has just published his second book on the Oscar-winning film, said: “The Quiet Man was the first film that showcased Ireland abroad and it attracted thousands of tourists to the country.
“It’s fitting that the dialogue should be dubbed by the voices of native Gaelic speakers to help it win an new audience and preserve in the Irish folklore.”
Mr McHale, a mathematics professor at University College Cork, has just published ’Picture The Quiet Man – An Illustrated Celebration’.
The book contains rare photographs from the set of the film while it was shot on location in Counties Mayo and Galway.
The book was launched tonight in The Quiet Man Snug in The Rathmines Inn in Dublin.
Among the attendance was the family of Meath garda Richard Farrelly, who wrote the film’s theme song, Isle of Inisfree.
Directed by John Ford, The Quiet Man tells the story of retired prize-fighter Sean Thornton who returns to his Irish roots and falls in love with the fiery Mary Kate Danaher.
The film celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2002 and hundreds of film devotees are attracted to tours of the film’s West of Ireland locations every year.
Plans are currently underway in Cong Co Mayo to build a replica pub based on ’Pat Cohan’s’ – the bar featured prominently in the film.
