The last line of the wedding toast was censored by Republic Pictures. It should have said, "May their days be long and full of happiness. May their children be many and full of health. And may they live in peace and national freedom". After the film was completed, Republic Pictures decided "national freedom" in Ireland was too controversial a concept.
The movie's fans who visit Cong to see the sites where the movie were filmed are called "Quiet Man Crazies".
The original White o' Morn cottage from the film is in a sheep field along a road that cuts from Maam Cross to the southern pass of N59. There you can see the bridge where Michaleen parts ways with Sean Thornton before Sean heads into the cottage for the first time and the the remainder of the cottage itself. Unfortunately, little is left of the original cottage, having been carried away stone by stone by "Quiet Man" fans. There is a replica of the cottage around the block from Pat Cohan's in Cong.
The station used in the opening sequence and during the scene where John Wayne slams the train doors looking for Maureen O'Hara later in the film is Ballyglunin Station, south of the town of Tuam, County Galway. It looks the same today as it did in 1951, when the film was shot with the only major difference being the bridge which crosses the railway tracks is now gone. This bridge was moved to Ballinasloe station, East Galway where it still stands today, after Ballyglunin closed down as a main line.
The white haired frail Dan Tobin, who gets up from his death bed and runs to see the fight is John Ford's older brother, Francis Ford. Francis was a silent film actor and director in his own right, who died one year after the film was made.
This is one of the few Hollywood films in which you can hear Gaelic, the national language of Ireland.
This was a significant departure for Republic Pictures, which specialized in low-budget westerns, comedies and war pictures. It was the company's first and only film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
When Sean and Mary Kate take their wagon into town a store called "Emily O'Connor" can be seen in the background. This is actually a crafts store and is still in business to this day.
When the film was first screened in Boston, Mass., Michaleen Flynn's line on seeing the broken bed, "Impetuous! Homeric!", was censored.
Whenever John Wayne lights up a cigarette, he takes exactly two puffs before pitching it away.
While all other saddled horses are seen with English saddles (as would be expected in Ireland during that time period), Sean's (John Wayne's) horse is saddled with a US Army-issue McClellan cavalry saddle.
Maureen O'Hara's father insisted that she learn a skill so that she would have something to fall back on (just in case her performing arts career was unsuccessful). She enrolled in business school and became a proficient bookkeeper and typist. Those skills proved helpful many years later when she was able to take and transcribe production notes dictated by John Ford for the screen adaptation of Maurice Walsh's short story The Quiet Man.