IF YOU QUITE fancied a pint in the pub from The Banshees Of Inisherin, you could be in luck. With filming long wrapped on last year’s Oscar nominee, JJ Devine’s no longer stands on Achill Island with that extraordinary coastline outside, nor does it welcome Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson daily. It has, however, been rescued and reopened in Kilkerrin, Co.Galway.
“My wife’s sister’s husband was working as security on the film,” explains the pub’s new owner, Luke Mees. “He asked if he could hold onto the pub, just for the timber value.” Those dismantled building parts were still in a field months later when Mees, who had fallen in love with the film, decided to find out what had become of JJ Devine’s. Soon he found himself driving to the island to pick up the pieces. “I got out and it looked like a bonfire, just a big pile,” he remembers. “It was misty and grey and dark, and I wondered if I’d gone daft in the head. I didn’t know if anyone would have any interest.”