Best Movies to Watch On St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day has a way of making everyone feel a little Irish, even if your connection to the Emerald Isle is one great-grandparent and a fondness for Guinness. Whether you’re hosting a gathering or just settling in for a quiet evening, the right movie can do a lot to set the mood.
There’s no shortage of great films tied to Irish culture, history, and storytelling — some funny, some heartbreaking, and a few that are both at once. Here are some of the best movies to put on this March 17th.
The Quiet Man (1952)
John Ford’s classic is the gold standard of St. Patrick’s Day viewing. John Wayne plays an Irish-American boxer who returns to his ancestral village in Connaught and falls for a fiery local woman played by Maureen O’Hara.
The Irish countryside looks almost impossibly beautiful, and the film has a warmth that hasn’t aged a day. It’s long, unhurried, and proud of it.
The Commitments (1991)
A group of working-class Dubliners decide to form a soul band. That’s the whole premise, and it works completely.
Alan Parker’s film captures a specific energy — the chaos of a group of people who genuinely believe in something, even when everything around them is falling apart. The music is great, the dialogue is sharp, and the characters feel real in a way that a lot of films about bands don’t manage.
Waking Ned Devine (1998)
A man in a tiny Irish village wins the lottery and promptly dies from the shock of it. His neighbors then hatch a plan to claim the winnings for themselves.
This is one of those comedies that earns every laugh through character rather than plot mechanics. The Irish coastal scenery is stunning, and the film has a genuine affection for its community of eccentric, lovable locals.
Michael Collins (1996)
Neil Jordan’s biopic about the Irish revolutionary leader is one of the more serious entries on this list, but it’s worth making room for it. Liam Neeson is commanding in the lead role, and the film doesn’t shy away from the moral complexity of the Irish struggle for independence.
It’s a reminder that the holiday has a history behind it that goes well beyond green beer.
In Bruges (2008)
Two hitmen are sent to hide out in Bruges, Belgium, after a job goes wrong. One of them finds the medieval city charming.
The other is going slowly out of his mind with boredom. Martin McDonagh’s film is wickedly funny and then, before you quite realize it, genuinely devastating.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are exceptional together, and the script is one of the best of the 2000s.
Brooklyn (2015)
Saoirse Ronan plays a young Irish woman who emigrates to New York in the 1950s and finds herself caught between two lives — the new world she’s building and the old one pulling her back. It’s a quiet, precise film that doesn’t lean on melodrama.
Ronan carries it completely, and the story’s central tension feels earned rather than manufactured.
Once (2007)
A Dublin street musician and a Czech immigrant spend a few days making music together. That’s it.
There’s no dramatic twist, no manufactured conflict. Just two people connecting through songs.
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová wrote and performed the music themselves, and it shows. The film cost almost nothing to make and it’s one of the most affecting Irish films ever produced.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
If you’re watching with younger viewers or just want something lighter, this Disney film about an Irish caretaker who outwits the King of the Leprechauns is the move. It holds up surprisingly well, the special effects are clever for the era, and it features a young Sean Connery in an early role.
Pure fun.
Angela’s Ashes (1999)
Frank McCourt’s memoir about growing up in poverty in Limerick gets a faithful adaptation here. It’s not an easy watch — the film doesn’t spare the audience from the hardship McCourt described in his book — but it’s beautifully made and anchored by strong performances.
Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle play the parents with real complexity. You don’t leave this one feeling cheerful, but you don’t forget it either.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner follows two brothers who join the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence and then find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War that follows. It’s a film about how political ideals fracture when they meet the demands of real conflict.
Cillian Murphy is outstanding. It’s heavy material, but it’s honest in a way that’s hard to look away from.
Gangs of New York (2002)
This one shifts the setting to 19th-century Manhattan, but Irish immigration is at the heart of it. Martin Scorsese’s sprawling film about the Five Points neighborhood captures the brutal reality of what many Irish immigrants faced when they arrived in America — not freedom exactly, but a different kind of fight.
Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher is one of cinema’s great villains.
Far and Away (1992)
Ron Howard’s epic romance pairs Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as Irish emigrants making their way across America in the 1890s. It’s big, sweeping, and unabashedly old-fashioned in the best sense.
The Oklahoma Land Rush finale alone is worth watching. This film knows exactly what it wants to be and commits fully.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Off the Irish shore in 1923, Martin McDonagh turns back to native roots through this story. Colin Farrell alongside Brendan Gleeson plays two longtime companions – until one walks away without warning.
Friendship collapses because someone just stops showing up. What unfolds feels odd at first, then quietly grips the chest.
Loneliness crawls into every scene, dressed as routine. Stubborn silences do more damage than shouts ever could.
Being unseen becomes its own kind of wound. The film lingers long after it ends, like a cold room you can’t quite exit.
Leap Year (2010)
Amy Adams heads to Ireland hoping to pop the question on February 29th, inspired by an ancient custom. She seeks out her boyfriend, yet instead finds herself drawn to a rough-edged innkeeper who shows her around.
Light on surprises, the story still moves with warmth and quiet ease. Though built from familiar pieces, it doesn’t fight its roots – just lets them unfold.
Rolling hills, misty paths, stone fences fill every frame. Charming?
Maybe. Predictable?
Often. But there’s comfort in how plainly it plays.
PS I Love You 2007
A widow, portrayed by Hilary Swank, holds on to words written by her late Irish partner, brought to life by Gerard Butler through heartfelt notes. Instead of moving on quickly, she finds herself drawn into memories sparked by his messages.
Much of the story unfolds across Ireland, where landscapes – especially the rolling peaks of Wicklow – fill the screen quietly. Emotions run deep here, yet never seem forced.
Because of how Butler carries himself in past moments shown in flashbacks, the ache of absence hits harder than expected.
One More Pint for the Road
What stands out most here is the stretch of ground it covers. A 1950s John Ford countryside tale fits just fine beside a grim 2008 movie about killers with dead-end lives.
One space holds both a young person’s journey through migration and another where men crumble because a bond fades. Ireland’s tales have long moved like this – humor brushing up against sorrow, often within the very same moment.
Choose whichever matches how you feel after sunset. Maybe even wear a pair.
This green holiday shows up just twelve months apart.
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