It played an integral part in the 2022 blockbuster, Banshees of Inisherin, was the focus of Taylor Swift’s awe, and inspired tourists all over the world to visit Ireland — all despite it being a place that never truly existed.
JJ Devine’s Public house was purpose-built for the Oscar nominated film, and was created to look like it had existed in Cloughmore, Achill Island since time began.
But the reality was that as a temporary structure with no planning permission it would be removed as soon as filming wrapped, leaving JJ Devine’s pub to only exist in the film and our imaginations.
This was until Galway publican, Luke Mee of Mee’s Bar in Kilkerrin, north County Galway, retrieved the original set and spent many arduous hours with friends, family and neighbours to rebuild it to its former glory.
The structure is entirely the original, down to the glass panes that featured significantly in the film, with Padraic (played by Colin Farrell) staring morosely out the window at his best-friend-turned-foe, Colm (played by Brendan Gleeson).
The process to recreate JJ’s has been a long one, and it all began with Luke hearing that the famous set had been lying in a yard in Achill Island since filming wrapped some months previously.
He waited to see if anyone else would be interested, and when it became apparent that there would be no competition, he transported the fictional public house over 180 kilometres to its new home in north east Galway.
“A few months had gone by since the filming finished and I heard the set had been taken down and was in a yard in Achill, but in very good condition,” said Luke, while taking a deserved break from helping to thatch the roof of the newly acquired film artefact.
“I waited for a period of time to see if anyone else showed any interest before taking it to Kilkerrin. I had the space to put it out the back of Mee’s Bar and that I would be able to restore it and preserve it, so I brought it here.”
Owner of a long-established pub in Kilkerrin, the Mee family’s workload has doubled, if not tripled, in the past few months, with every available hand assisting in the super-secret venture.
“It would not have been possible without the help of family, good friends and neighbours who have given up their time and energy to come and help this very important project.
“The pub is such a big part of film history and it is important to maintain it and make it into something that people can come to visit with their friends and enjoy, although we have a ban on cutting fingers off and throwing them.”
There have been some famous admirers of JJ Devine’s Public House with international superstar, Taylor Swift, saying in Vanity Fair’s ‘Directors on Directors’ programme that the beautiful structure looked like it had been a part of the landscape for centuries and that she would come and visit if it was ever rebuilt, and Mee has confirmed there is an open invitation for the singer to come and enjoy her time in JJ Devine’s.
“She would be very welcome to come to see the pub and enjoy herself and enjoy JJ Devine’s first free pint.”
JJ Devine’s Public House will open this weekend to the public, with a further official opening planned for later in the month.
While Taylor Swift may have been singled out, Mee says that any of the stars from the film are also very welcome to come and enjoy themselves and be able to enjoy their first actual pint in JJ’s for the first time.
There are hopes that the establishment of JJ’s in Kilkerrin will help drive traffic to the area and to boost local economy as well as preserving a film artefact while still allowing people to enjoy it.
While this may be a win for Kilkerrin, this will no doubt create tsunami sized waves in neighbouring towns and villages like Glenamaddy, Clonberne and Dunmore.
