MARTIN TIMONEY,
Sir, - I knew as soon as I saw a piece about The Quiet Man in The Irish Times (An Irishman's Diary, May 6th) that it wasn't going to be lauding the film.
I have always taken great delight in watching The Quiet Man. It is, of course, a fairy tale, but what's wrong with fairy tales? It bears little, if any, resemblance to the Ireland of today, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
Would anyone really want to watch a film about tribunals and dull election campaigns? While Robert O'Byrne seems to see the film as nothing more than a "piece of nonsense," others have managed to see a story of personal redemption, a struggle to overcome guilt, and a search for reconciliation (c.f. Afterimage by Richard A. Blake).
Perhaps it's just easier to view something as nonsense than to search for any depth in something we don't like. Perhaps that's another difference between the Ireland of today and the Ireland portrayed in The Quiet Man. - Yours, Etc.,
MARTIN TIMONEY,
Arranmore Island,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.