Galway farmer brings new twist to saga of old Quiet Man cottage

A long-running saga to restore the Quiet Man cottage took a new twist this week when it emerged the Californian owner is being challenged for squatter’s rights by a local Galway farmer.

The move came to light after Hollywood star Liam Neeson publicly added his voice to an international campaign to rebuild the ruin where John Wayne once wooed Maureen O’Hara which has been reduced to a collection of stones with a tree growing in the middle.

Galway County Council voted to place the site on the Record of Protected Structures to prevent its further deterioration and after a period of public display will vote in July for final inclusion. The protection listing went against the wishes of the owner.

Greg Ebbit, who has been the registered owner of the property since 1985 when he discovered it was for sale during a pilgrimage of Quiet Man sites, told an Irish American news website that an application for adverse possession was filed on behalf of Patrick Keane to the Property Registration Authority for the cottage and surrounding land.

Pat Keane and his wife Marion run the nearby B&B, Tiernakill Farmhouse in Maam Valley. In order to establish squatter’s rights, a person has to prove they have been using the land exclusively for twelve years although they are not the registered owner.

Mr Keane confirmed the application to the Connacht Tribune but said he has been advised legally not to comment on the case. However if he is successful he plans to do it up, he stated.

Mr Ebbitt said he had hired a Dublin-based legal firm to fight the bid. He told Irishcentral.com that he had entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” with his neighbour to graze cattle on the land in the late eighties in return for general maintenance work.

He said he now felt betrayed after years of attempting to restore the cottage which played a central part in many of the key scenes in the John Ford 1952 movie.

“I’ve spent a fortune on architects and engineers, but I’ve never got anywhere. It’s been like hell trying to get this thing off the ground and I’ve started to feel that there’s a big conspiracy to take this property off me.

“I don’t trust anybody any more, I really don’t. I’ve never made a penny from this property and I’ve probably spent over $100,000 in it ever since I bought it,” he told the website.

The cottage has lain derelict for years, even before it was bought by the American businessman.

But its condition has worsened due to film buffs visiting the site and taking away stones as souvenirs.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune