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Go green with the very best Irish movies that capture the glory and grit of the Emerald Isle and its people
Before the turn of the millennium it was rare for an Irish film to reach an international audience. It still doesn’t happen often. But when one does, it sticks with you. Consider the unspoken romance of Once, or Daniel Day-Lewis’s star-making turn in Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot, or the unforgettable reveal in The Crying Game. Whether romantic, comedic, animated or musical, the best movies of the Emerald Isle are invested with a certain kind of soul, one that encompasses centuries of history and the idiosyncrasies of its people. Looking for one to watch this St Patrick’s Day? Here are 12 of the best.
RECOMMENDED: The 15 best Irish songs for St. Patrick's Day.
Is it too soon to include so recent a movie? Not when it’s this extraordinary. A wrenchingly beautiful Irish immigrant drama, it re-creates the titular 1950s-era borough in all its melting-pot diversity (and Dodgers-loving Italian boyfriends), while also giving the 21-year-old Saoirse Ronan the kind of role—romantically conflicted, blooming, courageously open—that transforms young stars into icons.
A street musician (Glen Hansard) and a Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová) fall in love on the streets of Dublin in this popular musical romance, which inspired the Broadway musical. There’s no denying the power of these sincerely wrought acoustic tunes, among which “Falling Slowly” won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
A background in Celtic folklore isn’t necessary to appreciate this wondrous animated tale from Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon, though it probably wouldn’t hurt. Even if you know nothing about the Book of Kells, the pagan god Crom Cruach and the art of Irish visual poetry, the film’s breathtaking animation and mesmeric tone will draw viewers of any age into its gorgeous spell.
No one would claim that director Lance Daly delivers an Emerald Isle version of The Spirit of the Beehive, though this scrappy film about two Irish kids who ditch their working-class ’hood and head into Dublin does have a knack for capturing the elation and confusion of late childhood in all its ragged glory.
Whether from Dublin, Middle America or the Amazonian rainforest, teenagers have always started bands for precisely two reasons: to get laid and/or to get the hell out of their hometown. Once director John Carney encapsulates both of those impulses in this winning ‘80s-set pop musical about a private school misfit who puts together a group only after recruiting his crush to star in a music video. While it indulges in plenty of coming-of-age clichés, the energy stays high, the tunes are killer, and it ends up expressing a broad truth – that loving Ireland, like any place else, sometimes means escaping it.
In this wickedly funny Tarantino-esque black comedy, the mighty Brendan Gleeson (weathered and effortlessly humane) plays Father James, targeted for murder in the confession box by an angry mystery man. James is given seven days to put his affairs in order—and hopefully mend some bridges in his coastal Irish community.
Yes, it’s the same bloody Sunday about which U2 wonders how long they’ll have to sing: the events of Jan 30, 1972, when English soldiers killed 13 unarmed Irish protesters. Paul Greengrass’s impeccable historical re-creation, suffused with heartache, set the template for his future work on United 93.
