The setting is instantly familiar. There’s a small donkey who likes to mingle with the locals, a low-raftered pub and a wild Achill Island coastal setting visible through a small sash window. However, the real-life version of JJ Devine’s pub from The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s surprise Hollywood success from 2022, differs from its onscreen portrayal in a number of ways.
The bar is located on a vast plain of lush fields in a remote village about 100 or so kilometres south-east of the desolate beauty of Achill. The donkey isn’t a sidekick of Padraic (Colin Farrell); it’s a local beauty called Holly. And, of course, the ocean view is stencilled on to the window.
