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1950s sheet music front cover of "The Isle of Innisfree". This edition was released to coincide with the song's use as the main theme music of the film The Quiet Man.

The "Isle of Innisfree" is a song composed by Dick Farrelly (Irish songwriter, policeman and poet, born Richard Farrelly), who wrote both the music and lyrics. Farrelly got the inspiration for "Isle of Innisfree", the song for which he is best remembered, while on a bus journey from his native Kells, County Meath to Dublin. The song was published in 1950 by the Peter Maurice Music Publishing Co.

Farrelly’s "Isle of Innisfree" is a haunting melody with lyrics expressing the longing of an Irish emigrant for his native land. When film director John Ford heard the song, he loved it so much that he chose it as the principal theme of his film The Quiet Man. The composition received no mention in the screen credits. "The Isle of Innisfree" became a worldwide hit for Bing Crosby in 1952 and continues to feature in the repertoires of many artists.

There is a common misconception that the song and the famous poem by W. B. Yeats, "Lake Isle of Innisfree", were written about the same place. Yeats' Innisfree was an uninhabited island in Sligo's Lough Gill, whereas Farrelly's Innisfree represented all of Ireland.

The song remains popular and has been recorded by hundreds of artists around the world.

Celtic Woman - Isle of Inisfree

Charlie Landsborough - Isle of Innisfree

Frankie McBride - Isle Of Innisfree

Foster & Allen - Isle Of Innisfree

Daniel O'Donnell - Isle of Innisfree

Anne Shelton 'The Isle Of Innisfree'

Dick Farrelly, Isle Of Innesfree performed by Marcus Reynolds on trombone

Cathy Mahuire - Isle of Innisfree

The Dublin City Ramblers - The Isle Of Innisfree

Philomena Begley - Isle of Innisfree

• Bing Crosby - The Isle Of Innisfree

• Ruby Murray - Isle of Innisfree

• The Irish Tenors - Isle Of Inisfree

• John McDermott - Isle of Innisfree 2022

• Celtic Thunder - Isle Of Innisfree (Live From Ontario / 2015) ft. Emmett O'Hanlon

(THE ISLE OF INNISFREE - lyrics)

1ST VERSE

I'VE MET SOME FOLKS WHO SAY THAT I'M A DREAMER, AND I'VE NO DOUBT THERE'S TRUTH IN WHAT THEY SAY. BUT SURE A BODY'S BOUND TO BE A DREAMER, WHEN ALL THE THINGS HE LOVES ARE FAR AWAY. AND PRECIOUS THINGS ARE DREAMS UNTO AN EXILE, THEY TAKE HIM O'ER THE LAND ACROSS THE SEA. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HAPPENS HE'S AN EXILE, FROM THAT DEAR LOVELY ISLE OF INNISFREE. AND WHEN THE MOONLIGHT PEEPS ACROSS THE ROOF-TOPS, OF THIS GREAT CITY WONDROUS THO' IT BE, I SCARCELY FEEL ITS WONDER OR ITS LAUGHTER, I'M ONCE AGAIN BACK HOME IN INNISFREE.

2ND VERSE

I WANDER O'ER GREEN HILLS THROUGH DREAMY VALLEYS, AND FIND A PEACE NO OTHER LAND COULD KNOW, I HEAR THE BIRDS MAKE MUSIC FIT FOR ANGELS, AND WATCH THE RIVERS LAUGHING AS THEY FLOW. BUT DREAMS DON'T LAST THO' DREAMS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN, AND SOON I'M BACK TO STERN REALITY. BUT THO' THEY PAVED THE FOOTWAYS HERE WITH GOLD DUST, I STILL WOULD CHOOSE THE ISLE OF INNISFREE.

Films

"Isle of Innisfree" is the principal musical theme of the film The Quiet Man (1952). It features in Steven Spielberg's film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) when the famous kissing scene between John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man is shown. The melody is also included in the soundtracks of the films Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005).

Analysis

The song was also featured in the RTÉ Radio arts programme Rattlebag as one of the top 75 Irish songs of all time in a series entitled "The Story Behind The Songs". Des MacHale (writer and mathematician) and Dick Farrelly's son Gerard were contributors on the programme. There is also a BBC Northern Ireland television series, "Brian Kennedy on Song", in which "Isle of Innisfree" is featured and discussed.

In a chapter entitled "Richard Farrelly and The Isle of Innisfree" of his book Picture The Quiet Man, Professor Des MacHale wrote:

"It is one of the finest and most beautiful melodies ever written, ranking in the opinion of many, right beside Danny Boy and no greater praise is possible. But its appeal is also timeless and international, expressing as it does the trauma of separation from one's birthplace and the ecstasy of returning to the physical soil from which one is sprung... But it is the sheer unanswerable beauty of the melody of Richard Farrelly's The Isle of Innisfree that makes the greatest impact and dwells so deeply in the memory. Here is music dripping with emotion, lush texture, brimming with nostalgia, and fitting so perfectly into the action of The Quiet Man that it could have been written with the movie in mind. No wonder John Ford jumped on it and named the village of Innisfree in its honour".

Performance history

The first public performance of the song was at a social event in the St. Vincent De Paul Hall in Kells, Co. Meath on St. Patrick's Night 1950. The "Isle of Innisfree" and "Seolta Bána" by Dick Farrelly were performed by Sinead Stone and Gerard Farrelly (Dick Farrelly's son) for Irish actress Maureen O'Hara at her induction into the Irish America Hall of Fame at the JFK Heritage Centre in New Ross, County Wexford, in July 2011. In May 2012 they performed the "Isle of Innisfree" and other Dick Farrelly songs for President Michael D. Higgins at the George Bernard Shaw International Conference which took place in the National Gallery of Ireland.

By May incorporate artwork by Clement Hurel - Public Domain, Link

By Public Domain, Link. John Wayne and Victor McLaglen in the movie shake hands, Ward Bond between them in the background.

The Quiet Man is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story of the same name by Maurice Walsh, later published as part of a collection titled The Green Rushes. The film is notable for Winton Hoch's lush photography of the Irish countryside and a long, climactic, semi-comic fist fight. It was an official selection of the 1952 Venice Film Festival.

John Ford won the Academy Award for Best Director, his fourth, and Winton Hoch won for Best Cinematography. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

By Public Domain, Link. Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara) and Sean (John Wayne)

In the 1920s, Sean "Trooper Thorn" Thornton, an Irish-born retired boxer from Pittsburgh, travels to his birthplace of Inisfree to purchase the old family farm. Shortly after arriving, he meets and falls in love with fiery, red-headed Mary Kate Danaher, the sister of bullying Squire "Red" Will Danaher. Will also wants to buy the Thornton family's old cottage and land, and is angered when the property's current owner, the wealthy Widow Tillane, accepts Sean's bid instead of his offer. Will then retaliates by refusing consent for Sean to marry his sister.

Some village residents—including Father Peter Lonergan and local matchmaker-cum-bookmaker Michaeleen Óge Flynn—trick Will Danaher into believing that Widow Tillane will marry him if Mary Kate is no longer under his roof. He gleefully allows the marriage, but he refuses to give Mary Kate her dowry when he finds he was deceived. Sean, unschooled in Irish customs, professes no interest in obtaining the dowry; but to Mary Kate, the dowry represents her personal value to the community and her freedom. She insists that the dowry must be received to validate their marriage, causing an estrangement between her and Sean. The morning after their wedding, villagers arrive at the couple's cottage with Mary Kate's furniture, having persuaded Will to release it, but they could not convince him to pay the dower-money.

Sean's refusal to fight her brother is attributed to cowardice by Mary Kate. However, Sean reveals to the local Protestant Minister, Rev. Cyril Playfair, who also is a former boxer, that he once accidentally killed an opponent in the ring. Sean had sworn to give up fighting out of fear and guilt over the manslaughter, since the other man had a wife and children and was younger than him. Mary Kate also confesses her part in the quarrel to Father Lonergan, who berates her for her selfishness. She and Sean partially reconcile that night, and they share the bedroom for the first time since their marriage.

However, the next morning, Mary Kate quietly leaves their cottage to board a train for Dublin, hoping this will spur Sean to action, though she does not actually want to leave. Sean soon learns from Michaeleen where she is, races his horse to the train station, and pulls her off the train. Followed by a growing crowd of villagers, Sean forces Mary Kate to walk with him the five miles (8 km) back to the Danaher farm. There, Sean confronts Will and demands the dower-money. When Will refuses, Sean throws Mary Kate back at her brother, declaring "no fortune, no marriage" (which is their custom, not his). The ultimatum shocks both Mary Kate and Will, who finally pays the 350 pounds. Sean immediately burns it in the boiler, abetted by Mary Kate, showing that it was not the money but her husband's courage and brother's respect she wanted all along. She proudly leaves for home, but a humiliated Will takes a swing at Sean, only to be knocked down by his defensive counter-punch.

A donnybrook ensues, then evolves into a long Homeric fistfight between only Sean and Will after they agree to adhere to the Marquess of Queensberry rules – right before Will kicks Sean in the jaw. This much-anticipated brawl attracts more and more spectators as it continues for miles across countryside and village. The fighters finally pause for a drink inside Cohan's Bar, where they begrudgingly admit a mutual respect for one another. As they argue over who will pay for the drinks, Will tosses a brew into Sean's face. Sean in turn ends the fight by hitting Will so hard he falls back, crashes through the bar's front door, and ends up lying unconscious in the street. Later, the reconciled and obviously inebriated brothers-in-law sing as they stagger arm-in-arm back to Sean and Mary Kate's home for supper, much to Mary Kate's amusement and delight.

The next day, a humbled Will and the Widow Tillane begin their own courtship, and they ride out of the village side by side in a jaunting car driven by Michaeleen. Sean, Mary Kate, and the villagers wave to them as they pass, before Sean and Mary Kate playfully chase each other across the fields back to the cottage.

In a subplot, Rev. Playfair has earlier revealed to Sean that his church will probably be transferring him and Mrs Playfair, both lifelong residents, due to his shrinking congregation. Rather than seeing their friends go, Father Lonergan, hiding his priest’s collar, leads the village in a cheer for the visiting Church of Ireland bishop, too.

The Making of The Quiet Man (1992)

Behind the scenes Photos

Production

The film was something of a departure for Wayne and Ford, who were both known mostly for Westerns and other action-oriented films. It was also a departure for Republic Pictures, which backed Ford in what was considered a risky venture at the time. It was the only time the studio, known for low budget B-movies, released a film that would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Ford read the story in 1933 and soon purchased the rights to it for $10. The story's author was paid another $2,500 when Republic bought the idea, and he received a final payment of $3,750 when the film was actually made. Republic Pictures agreed to finance the film with O'Hara and Wayne starring and Ford directing, but only if all three agreed to first film a Western with Republic. They did, and after completing Rio Grande, they headed for Ireland to start shooting.

One of the conditions that Republic placed on Ford was that the film run under two hours. However, the finished picture was two hours and nine minutes. When screening the film for Republic executives, Ford stopped the film at approximately two hours in, on the verge of the climactic fistfight. Republic executives relented and allowed the film to run its full length. It was one of the few films that Republic filmed in Technicolor; most of the studio's other color films were made in a more economical process known as Trucolor.

The film employed many actors from the Irish theatre, including Barry Fitzgerald's brother, Arthur Shields, as well as extras from the Irish countryside, and it is one of the few Hollywood movies in which the Irish language can be heard. Filming commenced on June 7, 1951. All of the outdoor scenes were shot on location in Ireland in County Mayo and County Galway. The inside scenes were filmed toward the end of July at the Republic Studios in Hollywood. Vawn Corrigan reports that Ford made considerable efforts to get the costumes correct for the period with Ó’Maille – The Original House of Style in Galway tasked with sourcing the costumes.

By Jonathan Billinger, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link. "The Quiet Man Bridge"

The story is set in the fictional community of Inisfree. This is not the same as the Lake Isle of Innisfree, a place in Lough Gill on the Sligo–Leitrim border made famous by poet William Butler Yeats, which is a tiny island. Many scenes for the film were actually shot in and around the village of Cong, County Mayo, on the grounds of Cong's Ashford Castle. Cong is now a wealthy small town and the castle a 5-star luxury hotel. The connections with the film have led to the area becoming a tourist attraction.

In 2008, a pub opened in the building used as the pub in the film (it had actually been a shop at the time when the movie was shot); the pub hosts daily re-runs of the film on DVD. The Quiet Man Fan Club holds its annual general meeting in Ashford Castle. Other locations in the film include Thoor Ballylee, Co. Galway, home of poet W.B. Yeats for a period, Ballyglunin railway station near Tuam Co. Galway, which was filmed as Castletown station, and various places in Connemara Co. Galway and Co. Mayo. Among those are Lettergesh beach, where the horse race scene was filmed, "The Quiet Man Bridge", signposted off the N59 road between Maam Cross and Oughterard and the "White O'Morn" cottage. The latter is located on R336 south of Maam, but long ago fell into ruin.

The film also presents Ford's depiction of an idealized Irish society, with only implied social divisions based on class and differences in political or religious affiliations. The Catholic priest, Father Lonergan, and the Protestant minister, Reverend Playfair, maintain a strong friendly relationship throughout the film, which represented the norm in what was then the Irish Free State, where religious tensions occurred in the 1930s but were the norm only in Northern Ireland. One of the allusions to Anglo-Irish animosity occurs after the happy couple is married and a congratulatory toast offered by Hugh Forbes expresses the wish that they live in "national freedom" (the term national has been censored from most editions) and before the final donnybrook when Thornton demands his wife's dowry from Danaher. Danaher asks Hugh Forbes, who had been commander of the local Irish Republican Army unit during the fight to expel the British, "So the IRA is in this too, ah", to which Forbes replies, "If it were, not a scorched stone of your fine house would be standing."

Ernie O'Malley, an Irish Republican Army officer during the war of independence commander of the anti-Treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War and author, acted as an advisor to Ford on the local culture, being on set with him every day. According to O'Hara, Ford "had a great deal of respect for Ernie... He had such respect for Ernie. They would natter away like old buddies... They liked each other. They were friends".

Music

Ford chose his friend, Hollywood composer Victor Young, to compose the score for the film. Young sprinkled the soundtrack with many Irish airs such as the "Rakes of Mallow" and "The Wild Colonial Boy". One piece of music, chosen by Ford himself, is most prominent: the melody the "Isle of Innisfree", written not by Young, but by the Irish policeman/songwriter Richard Farrelly. The melody of the "Isle of Innisfree", which is first heard over the opening credit sequence with Ashford Castle in the background, becomes the principal musical theme of The Quiet Man. The melody is reprised at least eleven times throughout the film.

The upbeat melody comically hummed by Michaeleen Oge Flynn and later played on the accordion is the "Rakes of Mallow".

A portion of the Irish version of "The Wild Colonial Boy" is played throughout the film.

When Maureen O'Hara died in October 2015, her family stated she listened to music from The Quiet Man during her final hours. Filmmaker George A. Romero was also said to have died listening to the score.

Reception

In 1952 A. H. Weiler of The New York Times viewed the film "as darlin' a picture as we've seen this year," with "dialogue that is as tuneful as a lark's song." In another contemporary review, the entertainment trade paper Variety called the picture "beautifully filmed" and wrote that "Wayne works well under Ford's direction," but found the 129-minute running time "unnecessary." Harrison's Reports described the film as "a delightful and rollicking comedy melodrama of Irish life, directed with skill and acted with gusto by a fine cast." Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post declared it "a complete jim-dandy ... The photography is glorious and Victor Young's score, inspired by folk airs, is a complete joy for an exuberant, vigorous picture." Philip Hamburger of The New Yorker was not so taken with the film, writing, "If am to believe what I saw in John Ford's sentimental new film, 'The Quiet Man,' practically everybody in Ireland is just as cute as a button," adding, "Mr. Ford's scenes of the Irish countryside are often breathtaking ... but the master who made 'The Informer' appears to have fallen into a vat of treacle." In contrast to contemporary reviews of the film, editorial writer Frances Mulraney saw the film as "misogynistic" and "outdated"—due not just to the psychological and physical control the male characters exert over the female characters, but also for the female lead's gender-based expectations of her husband.

On the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Quiet Man in 2019 has a 90% approval rating based on reviews from 41 critics. Critical consensus on the website states, "Director John Ford and star John Wayne depart the Western for the Irish countryside, and the result is a beautifully photographed, often comedic romance."

The film was also a financial success, grossing $3.8 million in its first year of release. This was among the top ten grosses of the year. It was also the seventh most popular film for British audiences in 1952.

Awards and nominations

Home video

It was first released on DVD December 14, 1998 by Artisan Home Entertainment. It was also released 4 years later on a Collector's edition DVD on October 22, 2002 by Artisan. The Special features on this edition include "The Making of the Quiet Man" Documentary with Leonard Maltin, and "The Joy of Ireland" Documentary with Maureen O'Hara and Andrew V. McLaglen, and "Remembering The Quiet Man Montage".

On January 22, 2013 Olive Films released The Quiet Man on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray, as a 60th Anniversary Special edition. It included the documentary "The Making of the Quiet Man" with Leonard Maltin.

In 2010 there was a documentary called Dreaming The Quiet Man made about the journey and making of The Quiet Man. It was narrated by Gabriel Byrne, and had interviews with Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Charles F. Fitzsimons, and Maureen O'Hara. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on March 24, 2015.

The isle of Innisfree, Theme From "The Quiet Man"

The Quiet Man (1952) Trailer #1

The Quiet Man (1952) Trailer