Bring Them Down (2025)
Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott are the sons of warring shepherding families in this dark and disturbing film about escalating revenge. It inspired the New York Times‘s Glenn Kenny to write, “The lush, green, gorgeous scenery of rural Ireland is on generous display in Bring Them Down … Nevertheless, if you choose to subject yourself to this meticulously crafted but intermittently punishing film, you might emerge with a determination to never visit the place ever.”
Kneecap (2024)
In an era of musical biopics, Kneecap stands apart for avoiding the typical rise-and-fall-of-an-artist clichés. The members of the rap group play themselves, telling the story of how the band formed when a schoolteacher teamed up with two guys who are “self-confessed low-life scum.” The unlikely trio went on to make music in the Irish language—which wasn’t even recognized as an official language of Ireland at the time—turning them into extremely unlikely civil rights leaders.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
What does it take to keep a long-lasting friendship going—and what happens when it’s over? In this film, Colin Farrell plays a man whose world is rocked when his best friend, played by Brendan Gleeson, suddenly turns a cold shoulder to him. It comes from director Martin McDonagh, who made other sharply insightful films like Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and when it was released it received eight Oscar nominations (thought it won none of them—there goes that dream, as the characters say).
Michael Collins (1996)
Liam Neeson stars in the true story of the Irish revolutionary leader who fought against British rule in the early 20th century. At the time of its release, this was the highest-grossing film of all time in Ireland (until it was unseated by Titanic).
The Secret of Kells (2010)
This is the first of the Cartoon Saloon’s “Irish Folklore Trilogy,” and it made a big splash when, almost out of nowhere, it was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film Academy Award alongside Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and Pixar’s Up. Watch and you’ll see why: The delightful tale follows Brendan, a young man in medieval Ireland, who befriends a fairy and heads off on a magical quest to fight evil.
Small Things Like These
After Oppenheimer and his subsequent Oscar win, Cillian Murphy could have had his pick of projects, and he chose this: a small, heartbreaking movie from playwright Enda Walsh. It follows a man who realizes he can no longer turn a blind eye when he becomes aware of certain activities of the local convent.
The Quiet Man (1952)
An Irish movie made by Americans and Irish Americans—including John Wayne and director John Ford, most known for their Westerns—this film tells a story about an American boxer who returns to his native Ireland and tries to win the hand of a local woman (Maureen O’Hara, who was actually born in Ireland).
Once (2007)
A Dublin busker meets up with a Czech immigrant, and they decide to try and write and record an album together. (And with good results—the movie’s signature song, “Falling Slowly,” won the Oscar for Best Original Song.) This movie is for anyone who’s ever been either enamored or enraged by the creative process.
Belfast (2021)
Many movies have tackled the tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, but this movie takes it down to kid-level, showing the events from the point of view of a 9-year-old boy just trying to live amongst his family and neighbors. It comes from director Kenneth Branagh, who based the black-and-white movie on his own experiences growing up.
The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
For a movie you can watch with the kids, The Secret of Roan Inish tells the story of Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village. She starts to uncover the town’s secrets, and is especially enamored with rumors about selkies and seal-people, and how that might relate to the disappearance of her younger brother.
Brooklyn (2015)
Saoirse Ronan stars as an Irish immigrant in 1950s New York City, and she has to decide between a life in Brooklyn or her old one back home. (Warning to those feeling homesick: It will make you want to call your family.) The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Another based-in-real-life tale, this movie follows Gerry Conlon, a man who was wrongfully accused of carrying out a bombing for the IRA. Conlon spent 15 years in prison for the crime, and the movie—which earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis—follows the courtroom proceedings that attempt to exonerate him.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
This Walt Disney family classic may not actually be from Ireland, but it takes place in a small town in Ireland where Darby (Albert Sharpe, who is actually from Belfast), tricks leprechauns into giving him three wishes. But are the wishes all they’re cracked up to be?
Waking Ned Devine (1998)
On a much lighter note, Ned Devine wins the Irish National Lottery—only to die from shock. (We promise, there’s comedy here.) The movie follows the rest of his small town as they band together to try and claim and share his winnings in his honor.
Black ’47 (2018)
This is a dark revenge drama that plays out against the backdrop of the Irish Famine. And, though it takes place in Ireland, many critics say the gritty pulpiness makes it feel more like an American Western.
Wolfwalkers (2020)
This Cartoon Saloon film follows an English hunter and is rebellious daughter, Robyn, who are sent to a village in 1650s Ireland to clear the woods of a wolf pack that has been terrorizing the locals. Robyn is eager to join on the hunt, until she meets a friend who may or may not belong to the pack, which possibly assumes human form by day and wolf form at night.
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
This Irish film is also an offbeat romance, so it’s good to watch on either Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day. In it, Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt star as neighbors from two warring families. As their parents age, they have to decide if they want to abide by their relatives and adhere to the established rules for their adjacent properties, or honor their feelings for each other. The film is based on the play Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley, writer of Moonstruck (truly one of the best romances of all time). Shanley also directed this one.
My Left Foot (1989)
If you want a master class in acting, watch Daniel Day-Lewis in this Oscar-winning performance. In the amazing true story, Lewis plays the real-life Christy Brown, an Irishman with cerebral palsy who taught himself to paint and write with his toes.
Intermission (2003)
This is the perfect date movie, in that there’s something for everyone. It’s part crime thriller, part romance, with a little bit of comedy thrown in. Colin Farrell plays a petty thug who comes up with an idea for a heist, and ropes in some of his friends, including John (Cillian Murphy), who is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend Deirdre (Kelly MacDonald). Watch the credits to hear Farrell sing a cover of “I Fought the Law.”
Sing Street (2016)
Adapted into a Broadway show, this movie is so many crowd-pleasing things at once: It’s an underdog story, a coming-of-age-tale, and a musical all rolled into one. It takes place in 1980s Ireland, where a young, socially outcast boy decides he wants to start a band to help make friends and—what else?—impress a girl.
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