White O'Morn Cottage

A Picture Paints a Thousand Memories

Welcome to a corner of my home.
 

A simple photograph...of an old sewing machine tucked away in a corner of my cottage beside the fire...Not so.

For it tells a many stories and triggers many fond memories...

*The sewing machine itself...was rescued from a skip/dumpster in Portmarnock, Dublin by a friend of mine. He saw it and thought of me. It came with original instruction book and box of accessories, the original packing slip from the factory, and even the original tube of oil. Some old lady had treasured it for years and it ended up in a skip. But then along came Cecil. Thank you Cecil.

 

*The table it stands on is an old, ornate Singer sewing machine stand...It was found by me in the derelict barn on the land that came with the cottage. Much rusted - but to me it was treasure and I sanded it, painted it black and gold and Paul and I added a top, recycled from a spare fence post. We had much fun putting this together , making something out of nothing and Paul taught me how to use a chopsaw and that was a lovely day. I love this table. Thanks Paul

 

*The hugging frog statue to the right of pic are labeled Pam & Paul. A charity shop find and they called to me ....so home they came and got Tippexed and labeled. I can really relate to how these two hug each other. I wonder why? (Paul on right and Pam on left) Thank you Vincent de Paul Shop

*Extreme right can be seen the pump and pipes for  the central heating coming from the stove, all of them installed by my plumber son, Jamie - my baby. I think he hated every minute he spent working here as it is so quiet and rural and everything a young man, used to the mayhem and bright lights of Dublin, does not need or want (Live long enough son, and you will appreciate it) Thank you Jamie.

 

* The book on the table top is an original copy of "Green Rushes"  by Maurice Walsh, the book the film The Quiet Man is based on. My cottage is named White O'Morn after the cottage in the film "The Quiet Man" and I have copied and recreated the cottage in the film as far as is practicable. It is my favourite film...thank you John Huston.

*The coaster. It is hard to read in the picture but it says " A friend is someone who knows all about you - but likes you anyway" It was a gift from a German friend we met in Canada in  2000. I treasure it for its sentiment and for the friend who gave it to us. Thanks  Klaus.

 

* The lamp. A carboot find and I love it even though only one of the lights  ever worked. The lamp base is a lillypad design and the frog was not originally part of  it but is one of the MANY my sis, Angie has given to my husband Paul, who is a fairy and frog fan-at-ic. For the plague of frogs- Thanks Angie.

So - not just a simple picture at all. But full of memories but whenI look at them, at any of the components, they can trigger a particular memory or emotion.

My cottage is full of these vignettes and as my gaze falls upon them ... settling for a few seconds on them, resting on each like a touchstone, I count my blessings and acknowledge them and think...... "Oh, so-and -so gave me that" or "I remember finding that little treasure" or "That reminds me of..."

One of my many mottos is "Delight in the little things"

 And I do.

 

 

Vintage Motherlode! ...from Postman Pat.

 

My postman loves me. Yes, he does.

I shop on Ebay and so.... he is assured a secure job until his retiermient :-)

(Recession me arse!  Stick with me - all will be well)

I love my postman too. He brings me goodies on a regular basis. It feels like he is bringing me pressies and I am gushingly grateful to him every time. We have a great relationship ...me and my postman (he brings bills too but they are for Paul).

He only ever sees me in my pj's with bad bed head hair...you know the style? (Yeah, the one that looks like a gorilla broke into your bedroom at night and swung you around in circles for a while. That one. Interesting to say the least.)

But my postman? Does he care? Not a bit. He loves me. I love him. Simple.

Postman Pat.

 Yup, his name is Pat. (But sure this is Ireland and most men are called Pat or a variation of same)

I'm a woman and I'm nearly called Pat meself...if it wasn't for the M at the end of Pa...I'd be Pat wouldn't I?.

 Even some Americans of my aquaintence (you know who you are!) are named Pat, Patrick, Padraig Padhraic, Phairic or Paddy. Great ol' name. Gotta love it.

Anyway, I digress. Postman Pat brought me a treasure trove of vintage sewing notions this morning...all contained in a fab vintage tin from the 40's.

MOTHERLODE!

I bought a vintage tin on Ebay 'cos I am in my vintage tin phase.

 

Gorgeous tin. Sweetpeas flowers raised on lid and the word "Workbasket" engraved on it. Lovely.

I love it and I have not even opened it yet.

No one bid against me and so...£6 on Ebay? Good value? YES, Love it already!

 I knew it contained some sewing notions but I had fallen for the tin and the notions were to be  a bonus.

Rusted clasp...very hard to open....

 

I love rust I must say. Wouldn't you love to be the one to prise open this rusty clasp to reveal what lies behind?

BONUS! Yeah. yup, yes, it was burstin' with treasure from 1930/40's - gillions of them.

 

 

This tin was a toffee tin by Blue Bird Toffee and it has a lovely graphic of a little boy inside the lid. Some lady kept all her sewing notions in this for decades. It contained EVERYTHING  one could want.

Close ups of the precious items.

 

Mending yarn? Love it! Here is a small sample of the 19 cards!

 

 

St George Pansy Quality Bias Binding? I have been looking for this for years!

 

Knitter's ribbon? Never heard of it - did you? I'm a knitter. I did not know I needed ribbon. But now I have some.

 

Wooden Spools? Love 'em. Here are a FEW of them.

 Like vintage buttons? yes? Here is a SAMPLE of my new collection.

Below: is a pack of hooks and eyes...labelled "War Tme Pack- Extra Japanned Finish" Lovin' heart!.... 

 

 Above: Sounds brave and durable. Let's look at the other side...

It says "By appointment to her majesty  - The Queen & Queen Mary"

 

I just knit a cardi for myself and I need a hook and eye and I will be using one of Queen Mary's for it. (Well, if it is good enough for Queen Mary it is good enough or this lol' ol' rock chick!)

Do you need to repair your HOSE?  ....or need to make your mark with some 60 year old tailor's chalk? Here it is ...I got it. 

 

BELOW:

What is this?

Well, it is a close up of a pin cushion. Hmmm. But some wonderful lady many years ago went to the trouble of handmaking this. Crosstitch? knitted? Woven/ tapestry?  I don't know. But I do know that it will be given a new lease of life by me - as I will stick it with my pins and USE it. She made it to be used and so it will be.  Neat, careful, perfect work for a simple pincushion. It has been in an attic for many decades and now it gets its time in the sun.

 

Love this piece of vintage sewing notions....

 

Above: When did you last darn your silk hosiery? Well, next time...if you need shade 30? ....I'm yer' man...erh...I mean woman.

KIMME!!  Stop, desist, don't do it anymore.... I have found the darning mushroom of my dreams - so you are off the hook (She was looking all over Germany for one of these for me)

Vintage darning mushroom. Mine ...all mine...and found in the magic box of goodies...here it is ... I will use this. I have just started to knit socks and having spent hours knitting these I don't intend to throw them out just because they have developed a little hole at heel.

 

So - what was the most amazing item in the box?

These were..... Old crochet hooks. So tiny  - they are for mending silk stockings. How tiny do they have to be? I have included a normal ballpoint pen to give you an idea of scale.

 

 

Here is a pic of a the tip of the ball point pen for comparrison...

 

In this day and age...would you have the patience to repair your hose with this tiny instrument?

Well I hope you enjoyed the tour of my new old tin. I had a miniature china cabinet and made a display of these items. Love it.

With the doors open

 

and with the doors closed.

 

Finally...need a laugh? click on youtube  link below so.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcPMKD8GFkI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Sewing Lucky Dip Surprises & Irish Stew Recipe

I love a lucky dip and when I saw this little plastic bag in the British Cancer Charity Shop in Enniskillen, for 50p I knew I should have it without even looking inside.

When I got it home I had so much fun looking through it. Were the contents worth the 50p? Ooooh, yes.....

As you can see it had some handmade doilies and ribbon....

and this strange little kit for hanging your clothes up to dry indoors?

That's a great idea...but...will these tiny pegs hold up a wet sock? Methinks not!

 

There were several spools of lace making cotton, iron on binding....

and two truly beautiful hand crafted doilies - one in cream and one in emerald green...but the real treasure was this vintage,engraved, fine crochet hook.

 

I just love it and use it for picking up any dropped stitches when I am knitting (yes, I drop the odd one...(I blame the stew aformentioned)

 

So pretty.

 

I will treasure this little item and keep it close to hand in my knitting basket. It's both beautiful and practical. I wonder if it was a special gift for the lady who made the lovely lace items?

I have been on Ebay again and found this old needle compact. Such a beauty and again very practical. Why use drab, new packs of needles when you can enjoy using one like this?

 

 

 

Then I found these two in Virginia, Cavan on my way to Ballinamore. A lovely old decorative spoon and some sweet buttons.  It reminds me of the song..."Just a spoonful of buttons make....."(buttons  -huh?)

 

and a close up. Hmmm...these are just begging to be crafted into something SWEET! Let me work on it and I'll get back to you.

 

That put me in a frilly frou frou mood and so I piled my frilliest cushions on to the bed. The peachy roses one on the extreme left, I made - and the rest were presents and finds and the one at front right is a nightie case.

 

 

Remember in an earlier post I said I was going to copy this customised chandy?

Well I did it last weekend and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I may add some more to it and even fix some of the matching saucers around the stem. Like many of my projects it's a work in progress!

 

 

Also in the kitchen I have added the old 1940's cooker I collected from Carrick-on-Shannon. I found it on our freecycle site Jumbletown and the lady who gave it to me told me it belonged to her aunt who lived in Ballinamore. So it is coming home!

The old lady is still alive but getting on in years and had to move and was adamant that she did not want her cooker dumped and was sure someone would love it. It was in daily use until a few weeks ago. Her niece told her she would try to find a good home for it but did not think she would find a new owner.

Well!.... Mrs Reilly of Aughawillan, Ballinamore...your much loved cooker has found a new home in my kitchen and is wonderful. It makes a great Irish Stew!

 

...and here it is. Delicious!

As we say here: "Sure there's eatin' and drinkin' on it!"

Irish Stew Recipe:

Lamb or Mutton: gillions = loads!

Spuds: (whole potatoes) 2 each-ish

Onions & carrots: (chunky chopped)

Fresh parsley and thyme :(lash them in on their stalks and remove before serving)

Soup mix :(= dried barley, lentils, split peas mix)

Stock cubes: (chicken and/or veg)

Salt and pepper: (a whiff of each)

Water: (fill yer' pot if there's any room left)

Boil up until meat is tender and serve with crusty bread. DEADLY!

(I don't know the quantities - just use lots of 'em and make enough for the next day as something happens to it overnight and it tastes even better the next day. It's true! (I think it ferments into alcohol or something)

(update: day 3...I have jussss had wha' iz left and I tink it has moo-tated inna sUmm-ing illegal! Wheee!)

Day 4? Don't even go there! ...... We're talkim'  'bout nuke soup!

 

Serve it up on old Willow pattern mismatched crockery for a really old fashioned Irish meal.

Well, bye for now ...enjoy your stew!...Pam

 

Crafting, Shaggy Ship Makeover and Pants in Drawers

That blasted cat needs a new name....quick!  Whoever heard of calling a cat Pants anyway?

Paul was heard shouting "Pants  - Down Now!" which brought a smile to the whole neighbourhood and a delicate pink blush to my cheeks! (the last bit is not true actually, 'cos after the mental pause one cannot blush no matter how embarrassed. ....If I think of any more good things about it I will let you know...but don't hold yer breath!)

Here is a pic of Pants in drawers - get it?.... Pants, drawers?

 

No? Well, we'll carry on so.

Oooh I have been a busy lady on the crafting front lately (the upside of insomnia) (if I think of any more I'll let you know but don't hold yer breath)

This is a knitting bag I made for myself. My machine did the embroidery for me. The fabric was left over from the quilt I made earlier this year.

I added this little crochet angel Angie gave me. I want to learn how to make them as I think it is lovely.

 

I forgot to line it and then had a go at doing so after the fact. Not the usual way of doing things but it worked. The lining came from my stash which never seems to get any smaller now matter how much I use. Like the story of the loaves and fishes..."the loads and stitches"

 

I finished my union jack cushion...here it is on my bed with a 1950's exquistely hand embroidered cushion cover and 60's quilted bedspread by Diana Cowper (the forunner to CK and LA) It looks just pale pink but up close it has delicate roses, satin piping and lace trim - divine! How could I have insomnia in a lovely bed like this!!!  

Ohhh , I think I am getting sleepy looking at this restful bedroom of mine. Pic below shows my thrifted lamp and hand made table square with one of the bedside lockers we had commisioned to be made from vintage salvaged wood. I painted the flowers on the drawer myself. The colour of the feature wall behind is called Adare Dusk. Yawn. A very restful colour....Yawn.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 No! it was not a nap just a false alarm!

Speaking of stashes: some of my goodies...buttons..gotta love buttons.

 

 

Also for the bedroom I made these cushions for the wicker chair. I am thinking of painting it white. The crosstitch roses and striped cushions I thrifted lately. Looks very shappy shack... shaggy ship....shabby shi... Oh sh...you know what I mean!

 

For my next project I am going to do this... I got this idea and photo from another blog. So sorry I can't remember the name. Hope she does not mind me using it here.

 

I already have a blue light fitting and I will look for blue china cups to match the cottage kitchen or I might use the gorgeous ones Kimme sourced for me when I challenged her to find me some treasure last year. Here's the light fitting...

 

and here are Kimme's cups..on the right of the shelves in this picture (which I unashamedly nicked from Twiggypeasticks blog as I know she wont mind) It was easier for me to get it from her's because I don't remember which post I put my one in.

 

..and a close up of one of Kimme's cups. They are all different, but  similar to each other.

 

Back to the bedroom (I am obsessed with the bedroom now) I could never get a valance for my (Dublin) bed as it is so high. It was one of my big spending splurges and was handmade in Killarney. It is called "The Gleneagle" I love it (just can't seem to get any sleep in it at the moment!)

However I solved this (valance) problem by using some lovely embroidered chiffon fabric from my stash to make a tacked on valance. First a close up of it.

 

and this one shows it in place...great for hiding allsorts under the bed!

 

 

I saw this and thought of you!

When Angie was in Warsaw recently she brought home these prints and bookmarks. She said the print in middle reminded her of my wildflower meadow (euphemism for field of weeds at the front of the cottage) ...and so it does!

 

 

BREAKING NEWS! My son, Chris, has agreed that "Pants" is not such a good name for his cat. It is now called "Knickers" Ah sufferin' heart!

Night night now - I'm off for another try at sleeping. Wish me luck!

Crafty Vintage Finds, Foreign Chocs and Flick Chick Film

Today I thrifted, crafted, lolled and scoffed a few scoops of fine wine. Needless to say it was a lovely relaxing day...Aaaaahhhh. Don't you just love a day like that?

Find of the day was this set of ...An old tin of embroidery threads, needles, instruction book and hoops. Whooohoo ...embroidery motherlode!

All you could need to create a gorgeous craft. And I will.

 

Some lovely vintage sewing patterns. I got more than this but only kept the easiest ones. The more complicated, (looks like you'd need to be a tailor to do them) I freecycled to someone else.

 

On the sewing front I have finally made myself a union jack cushion. (well, here it is shown as a WIP.) Will update with finished item.

I'm so jealous of you Americans and British who both have  interesting, adaptable and craftable flags (ours is a tricolour, green white and orange so - not a lot of scope there but I haven't given up yet! watch this space)

 

I am going to make one of these for a lovely young couple: Katy and Darren Meakin of Aughawillan, Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim...'cos they:

•  are English

•  live in Ireland

• and have a holiday home in France

• And have two doty little lads  - and are are well deserving of my crafting efforts.

Perfect for them...updates will follow of course. Katy and Darren...one union jack cushion comin' your way!

...and a close up of the lovely fabrics. Both bought in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. I have lots more of the pink gingham one. It is a dream to work with.

 

I have just finished this using the same fabric. It is a laundry bag (duh! as if you hadn't guessed)

I love how it turned out...and I did the word LAUNDRY using the embroidery threads. I haven't done any of this since I was a teenager. Loved doing it. I have a great creative mojo going on at the moment.

 

Below: I made the floral one on the left and thrifted the striped one on the right (one yoyo or 1 Euro)

 I think the striped one will go so well with the pink gingham union jack one in the cottage bedroom. The back of the floral one is done in the pink gingham and I am going to try to do a real buttonhole on my machine for it. I'm getting very brave with the ol' sewing machine these days. "Ain't no stoppin me now"

 

This must be national cushion week as I have gone all pillow mad! These two blue beauties below were found in a CS shop, brand new, pure handmade silk, and  - wait for it .........only €2 each. Whaaaaa!

Perfect shade of duck egg blue for the cottage living room. Can't have enough cushions in da' house.

My son, Chris, was in Belgium for the weekend and brought me home a HUGE bar of chocolate with a doty vintage graphic on the wrapper. YummmMMMMMMM ....Should I eat it or just tape it to my hips?

 

And what goes better with an overdose of chocolate? Well.....an old B&W romantic chick flick  of course...that's what!

 This one, The Enchanted Cottage comes highly recommended by me and scores highly as a three tissue weepie.

Treat youself to this flick made in 1945. Tells the tale of a plain woman and a scarred airman who decide to have a marriage of convenience, move into an enchanted cottage.....and - Sorry....Hmm hmm NO! - not telling anymore!

 

Perfect end to a perfect day! Have a nice weekend...Pam

Freecycled, Crafted and Thrifted Treasures!

 Vintage gas cooker find

Today I sourced this fabulous vintage gas cooker on our freecycle site www.jumbletown.ie  I never thought I would find a working original cooker circa 40/50's, never mind that it would be located withing a few miles of home! It will be perfect in the cottage kitchen instead of the ..."on its last legs and missing two burners and a broken oven door" cooker I have at the moment. Not only that  -but a very kind member of the site who lives nearby and knows of our present difficult circumstances has offered to collect it and store it if we can't get down to collect. How lovely of her!  Thanks you Misstake (aka Bernie)

I first met Bernie when she gave me some fabric and a sewing machine and I gave her a collection of rock videos! We have been firm friends since and she has contacted me several times to ask how Paul is doing and even offered to pick up the cooker for us. Thanks Bernie, much appreciated.

Sock News....

Well, I have just about finished my first sock and started my second! I could not figure out the finishing instructions for the first one so left it and started on next one. I will get to grips with it as I am so near to finishing...Wheee!I love sock knitting now and can't be stopped. More to come when I get them both finished. How's it goin' Kimme?

Thrifted Wool

I found a big bag of mohair wool in my local charity shop. It is called Kinnair and is made from goat's wool. Pic to follow. Don't know what I will make from it but it sure is gorgeous...any suggestions?

Well, The Cat, Pants...has settled in and peace reigns once more in our little home...she sure looks contented don't you think? She doesn't look like a moggie who is besieged by three doggies!

 

Next I have a pic for you of a lovely shabby chic piece of vintage Irish wool cushion cover I have just listed on my website White O'Morn Cottage Shop click on link or see side bar

It has a little hole in it and I am going to crochet a cute shamrock to cover it.

And how cute is this baby's aran cardigan? Doty! It has just been listed too.

...and while on the subject of cushion covers...here are two I made for my son, Steve and his girlfriend Marie. Deep orange is their accent colour so I made these from my stash of fabric sample books. I finished them off with big plastic toggle buttons. No frilly frou frou, shabby chic for this cool young couple!

 

...and here is one I made for my sister in law's new home. One side - the patchwork,  is made from Moda cotton fabric that sisTeeda gave me and the other  is made from handmade silk I got from a book of furnishing fabrics Angie got for me. Fully reversable and finished off with a vintage button closure...clever me!

 

 

Paul is keeping well and is getting ready for his next session of treatment in Sep. I am delighted to have my oldest son, Chris, home for  a while. He will be good company for me when Paul is in hospital (and can't have visitors - as he will be radioactive)

I caught a nice photo of Chris today when he was not expecting it...the best kind I think..."Are you growin' a beard son? ...or just acting the goat?" Love ya'!

 

Festival Fun

Just back from Ballinamore where they had their annual festival last week. Paul was tired so we only got out to one night of fun. There was something on every day and every night. We did a bit of a pub crawl on Wednesday night so as not to miss anything!

In the open air in High Street there was a great band on called Simply Tina....can't guess why!!!

 

We then headed off to Bobby Joe's Bar...Zinda, Paul and Angie getting into the spirit of it.

 

Next we went to the Poor Scholar...they were having a karaoke night...One drink, a good girlie giggle and a quick exit before we were tempted to sing!

 

Next one shows Paul having a scoop in Jackie's Bar where there was a country and western singer on.

He was good too and Angie and I got up to do The Tush Push (line dance) and made a holy show of ourselves and Angie pulled a hamstring......so it was off to Priors to see a Jazz and Swing band. Also pretty cool. We finished the night there.

 

The next day was Ladies Day but we could not get a ticket - sold out!

We had our own ladies day in Carrick-on-Shannon (shopping) and later in the Old Schoolhouse (party and craft night) Hmmmm....lots of party and not much crafting!

Katie arrived and showed us her gorgeous range of handmade, by her, bridal jewellery collection.

Talented lady Katie, she is a hairdresser, teacher, mother and jewellery maker! Well done Katie! More details to come over on Angie's blog The Old Schoolhouse (see sidebar)

 

Thrifted Finds:

Found some lovely goodies in Carrick - like this "Cross stitch" Home Sweet Home plate.

 

A sweet cake stand with...roses

 

 

Not that it was all fun and games...no, no, I had some home improvements planned. Above: Me shiftin' a mountain of sand and gravel to make what is locally known as a "street" to park on.

Talk to ya soon...Pam

 

 

 

Thrifted Treasures, Fairy Stitches and Woolshop Garden

First let me say to Twiggypeasticks "Have a wonderful holiday inWhite O'Morn Cottage!"

 Twiggy won my giveaway for a week's  holiday there and is currently in residence enjoying good weather, the Ballinamore Festival and lots more! Wish I was there....er..well maybe not...it only has one bedroom and er well......Oh, you know what I mean. Twiggy and Co. ....have a ball!!!!! Go girl!

Lots of love to you and your branch and your twiglet (husband and son)

Paul is not allowed out of range of his hospital so we have to have our "holidays" here at home as best we can. So every day we try to go somewhere and make an outing of it for ourselves. Lovely they are too. Always enjoy the simple pleasures - that's one thing his illness has taught us.

So off we went the other day to Stitch wool shop in Beaumont, Dublin. While I was browsing all the goodies in the shop Paul was able to go out to the garden at the back to have a cup of coffee. I joined him for a nice cup of tea. They serve it in a selection of mismatched vintage china and all the teapots have a cute hand knit cosy. So very civilised! 

 This is a fab little shop where you can sit and knit, meet other knitters, swap ideas and patterns, ask for advice, take lessons and hang out and have tea and such and so can your menfolk.

Here are some pics I took of the wool shop garden....a haven of peace and tranquility.

 

 

 

 

Even found a frog friend for Paul!

 

 

 

Not Rocket Science - Sockit Science

I have finally got the courage to have a go at knitting socks on 4 needles. I asked for a simple pattern and some wool. I'll keep you posted as to how I get on.

 

The lady assured me that if I could knit and follow a pattern then it was not difficult...so not rocket science but sockit science!

 

Stitched by Fairies I think!

After that we had time to take in one of my favourite charity shops where I found a stash of oddments of wool, needles (I must have a full set by now) embroidery thread, wool embroidery thread, sewing notions and more.

While there I found some lovely old table linens: a full set of tablecloth, napkins and traycloth. All of them hand stitched with minute, impossibly neat stitches. I took a macro photo of them to show you. Women had patience in those days!

 

I think I will keep these for the cottage as they are too beautiful to part with. I'm always doing that - even though I buy them to resell on my vintage website. I find that I can't part with them. Oh well, confessions of a hoarder! 

 

Ring a Ring O'Roses A Cottage Full Of Posies....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pink, porcelain, paper or  painted ....you just gotta love roses.....

 

 

Original White O'Morn Cottage Photos and Pictures of Locations for The Quiet Man Film

 

Many people visit this blog to find out more about the cult film The Quiet Man. I know from browsing the net that there is very little information to be had and it is frustrating for fans. It is of course my favourite film of all time and we watched it again last night.  I have found these pics of the original cottage above showing the owner at the time holding a baby and look at the chickens pecking just outside the half door and the roses growing in the flowerbeds.

Photo courtesy of Jack Murphy.

This is White O'Morn today.....

So sad that no one saw fit to preserve this lovely cottage for future generations. It is just a pile of stones now and even they are disappearing as tourists take them for souviniers.

Next is a painting of White O'Morn Cottage by Juhn McNulty. I love this and will be framing a print of it to hang in my White O'Morn.

 

Then we have a truly beautiful cottage that is still exactly the same today. It was the location for the Playfairs, the Church of Ireland reverand and his wife.

 

 Above is the Danagher house. It also survives and is located on the estate of Ashford Castle. Just the same except in the film there was no glass porch at the front door.

..and of course this is my White O'Morn cottage. I am working to make it as close to the original as I can. The big difference is of course the thatched roof. How I would love to have one. But alas they cost a fortune and I (unlike Mary Kate) don't have one yet. I am always hopeful of course!

Below is an old photo of Pat Cohen's Bar. It was actually a shop not a bar but now it has been refurbished and recreated faithfully as the bar in the film. I can't wait to visit it and have a "glass of black beer" Guinness. I don't like Guinness, but I'll lput some raspberry in it (if it's good enough  for John Wayne, it's good enough for me) No, he did not put raspberry in it but I will.

My husband met a lovely woman at a course he was taking and it turns out that a relative of hers outfitted the Pat Cohan Bar in Cong, county Mayo just recently! A small world. I am hoping to get some more info and pics from her as he got her email address.

 Click on link below for information about the reopening of this pub. They will be showing the film daily in the bar for tourists.

It was beautifully outfitted by Gus Martin , GM Carpentry, Dublin and is a faithful recreation of the one in the film.  Gus is a fervent fan of the film too so it must have been a labour of love. they used stills of the film to make sure they got it just right. I can't wait to see the results.

http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5008&Itemid=38

The tourist board are trying hard to make the owner of the derelect White O'Morn see the sense of restoring the ruin to it's former glory. That is something I would dearly love to see. The owner is an American and has so far not agreed to allow restoration to go ahead. The film brings thousands of tourists to Cong, Mayo every year and most of the buildings used are still in good to perfect condition.

Below is the Quiet Man Museum, Cong. It is in the centre of the village and is a faithful recreation with clothes and props too and a souvenier shop and a short film show upstairs. The haunting music of "Innisfree" plays all the time.

 

This is the pretty little church where Sean Thornton and Mary Kate Danagher played "pattie fingers" in the holy water font.

I am planning another trip to Cong this summer and will of course be posting ooodles of photos. Watch this space!

...WHAT???? Did I hear right??? ...you've never seen it!!!??? go right now to this link from Youtube to see scenes set to lovely music...and then down to the nearest video shop to treat yourself to a great classic romantic comedy.

 

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=GcHknRxRpxQ

This is the link to the Quiet Man Fan Club http://quietmanmovieclub.com

 

Mary Kate so loved her crockery and such. She used the beautiful Willow pattern dishes and so do we. This dresser is in the living room of my cottage opposite the door just as she had it in the film. I noticed she had some white cups hanging so I must get myself some of them too.

Below: we never got to see that end of the cottage but it must have been the kitchen end as is mine. My cottage has exactly the same layout as the original (but then most of the three roomed cottages were laid out like that. I wonder if it looked anything like this. This is an original 1920's handmade dresser and it came from an old cottage in Ballinamore, Leitrim. It was taken out about 8 years ago and place in a damp shed. It was to be used in another cottage in Aughvas but the owners got a new kitchen and it was never used. When I got my cottage and needed furniture they very kindly offered it to me. The feet/legs had rotted away on the wet floor but I managed to prop it up and give it a painting and it is my pride and joy. 

PS...I have just listed some of the lace shelf edging you see on the dresser below to my website www.suchprettyoldthings.com  for £5.99 per metre including shipping. It is vintage Irish cotton lace trim, new unused. Limited quantity available.

 

 

The view from inside the half door. I never tire of looking at this view as it keeps changing. Another of the many pleasures here is to lean over the door and contemplate the scenery. Very relaxing.