10 Irish Movies To Watch This St. Patrick’s Day
Given temperamental weather or just not wanting to go out and about and fight the crowds, you still are going to need some Irish charm in your life on Saint Patrick’s day. Hears your top 10 list of Irish movies to watch on Saint Patrick’s day.
1) Gangs Of New York
Given the name, not an immediate telltale sign of one that could fall in line with other Irish Movies, but its message sure is. We have Decaprio playing an Irish immigrant coming over to New York and realizing the way of life for Irish immigrants is not one to be desired. Given this injustice, he forms his own gang of Irish immigrants to overthrow the preexisting new york gangs. All in hopes of creating a better quality of life for all those Irish. A great, relatively recent movie that has a well-known star, and maintains all the raw and powerful motivations of freedom and rags to riches. A good way to kick off Saint Patrick’s day.
2) The Magdalene Sisters
Fair warning here, in terms of Irish movies in this list, this one can be pretty darn dark. This shows the severity of Irish catholic religious culture and how even if the choices were out of their hands there is no mercy when going against god. It also shows a really vast overview of Irish culture and the variety between interpretations and severity of catholicism. In the end, it is a good pick out of the lists of Irish movies, but definitely not one to be picked lightly for a fun and upbeat Saint Patrick’s day.
3) Grabbers
Now this one on the other hand…is a great choice in terms of upbeat Irish movies. Much like your 8 legged freaks or sharknado culture we have a spoofy yet horrific tale of a movie. Effectively, aliens assault a cozy Irish island and the only way the tenants of the said island can fight back is by drinking. And as I presumptuously expected of spoofy Irish movies the drinking is absurd and hilarious. Also, I can’t help but feel that you could make about 100 different drinking games out of this movie. Definitely give it a shot (haha, wordplay) on Saint Patrick’s day.
4) Once
Looking for romantic Irish movies? Well here’s one that you got to give a chance. Like most movies of the romantic tension variety, its slow to get going. But really where this movie shines is in the stereotyped but realistic Irish charm. From the accents to the mindset, this movie raves about Irish charm and is one of those Irish movies that just meets and then exceeds exactly what you are expecting from it.
5) The Guard
You cant leave out Action-oriented Irish movies either. And yes I am going to ham this up because it deserves. This movie is amazing, and literally when you think of cop movies with that strict by the books but incredibly gruff Seargent on the force-oh yeah this movie has on. And he’s Irish! Again, a movie among other Irish movies that really captures the gruff charm of the culture while also being quite a good plot line throughout the entire movie. Yes, you can obviously see some patterns, especially if you’re a fan of cop movies, but the Irish charm and culture keep you captivated enough to not read into the finer details of the plot.
6) Darby O’Gill And The Little People
Two words: Leprechaun King. An oldy but a goodie when it comes to Irish movies, and as a plus-Sean Connery! This movie comes along with a little bit of fantasy and romance and a lot of nodding towards a leprechaun finding his pot of gold. And all the very subtle relations to that and finding love. But hey, you didn’t hear that from me, a great movie with a great actor and a lot of very natural and not forced Irish charm. You may say so given the extreme leprechaun aspects and singing. But those aspects kill the stereotypes and leave this really a quite modest and strictly human emotional response. While older, of this list of Irish movies, I definitely recommend this one.
7) The Quiet Man
Well first of all-John Wayne. Secondly though, when you think of Irish movies this should be one of the first that pops into your mind. You have the typical romance plotline flanked by an American boxer going over to Ireland and falling in love with a true Irish lass. The cinematography in this movie while dated is on par in terms of emotional value with today’s movies. You’ve got romantic meetings in the rain, and absolutely ruggedly raw energy coming from this boxer played by Mr.Wayne. All and all, stereotypes aside-a great movie for a couple to watch if they can’t agree on what genre to pick-this has a little bit of everything and will make you want to get close and comfy on your Saint Patrick’s day.
8) Hunger
Second of all Michael Fassbender. Okay, I’m done, but honestly, a perfect actor to star in this movie and really breath some life into this list of Irish movies. The movie covers the Irish Hunger Strike in 1981 and shows Fassbender living and rebelling through this incredibly tough time. The movie is very dreary and keeps you in this tension of when will there be a break? Really eye-opening to the history behind this event while longtime fans of the genre/actor will be enthralled by this performance.
9) Brooklyn
Classifying this movie in a list of Irish movies is almost sinful given all the resounding themes in this movie. Saoirse Ronan plays a young Irish woman who begins a new life in the United States and finds herself in the crisis of helping her family back home or living with her new family in New York. Lots of questions in this movie concerning how long can an individual maintain their culture in such a different environment. On top of that, you bring romantic conflict into the works and question loyalty to a future life, or the life that got you to that point in the first place.
10) Leap Year
Both Leap year and Brooklyn share similar underlying themes, while still being great Irish movies for Saint Patrick’s day. Effectively you have the typical romance tension movie, where there’s a boyfriend to be judged by you in terms of character but is predominantly not in the picture due to work. And alongside that, a charming Irish guy who is readily available. Typical rom-com things ensure and you will not be disappointed by the outcome nor the acting in between that it takes to get there.
