50 Best Written St. Patrick’s Day Movies
As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, the time is ripe to indulge in the spirited celebration of Irish culture, and what better way to revel in the festivities than with a curated selection of the ’50 Best St. Patrick’s Day Movies.’ From heartwarming tales set against the lush landscapes of Ireland to comedies that capture the essence of Irish charm, this cinematic journey promises a pot of entertainment gold at the end of the rainbow. So, grab your green attire, pour yourself a pint, and join us as we traverse through a captivating reel of films that embody the magic, humor, and cultural richness of the Emerald Isle.
1. The O’Briens
First on the list of 50 best written St. Patrick’s Day movies is The O’briens. Two years after the death of his wife, an Irish father summons home his two sons and daughter, causing apprehension about the family’s secrets.
2. Into the West
Grandpa Ward gives his grandchildren a horse, stolen from them, leading the two boys on a quest to find and escape on it.
3. Wolfwalkers
A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to eliminate the last wolf pack but find their mission changed when she befriends a girl with a mysterious tribe.
4. Brooklyn
An Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn faces a choice between two countries and the lives within them when her past catches up.
5. Sing Street
A boy in 1980s Dublin starts a band to impress a girl, providing an escape from his strained family life.
6. Once
A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant’s eventful week in Dublin, capturing their love story through songs.
7. Waking Ned Devine
When a lottery winner dies of shock, the townsfolk attempt to claim the money, leading to comedic situations.
8. The Secret of Kells
A young boy in a medieval outpost embarks on an adventure with an ancient book full of secret wisdom and powers.
9. The Quiet Man
A retired American boxer returns to his Irish village and falls for a spirited redhead, facing opposition from her brother.
10. Song of The Sea
At number 10 on the list of 50 best written St. Patrick’s Day movies is Song of The Sea. A young Irish boy and his sister embark on an adventure to free fairies and save the spirit world.
11. Black ’47
Set during the Great Famine in Ireland, the drama follows an Irish Ranger who abandons his post to reunite with his family.
12. The Guard
An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is paired with an uptight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.
13. War of the Buttons
Children in two Irish villages engage in battles involving cutting off buttons, shoelaces, and underwear, creating mischief and mayhem.
14. Calvary
After a good-natured priest is threatened during confession, he must confront dark forces closing in around him.
15. Ryan’s Daughter
Set in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married woman in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.
16. Man of Aran
A blend of documentary and fictional narrative, the film captures the trials of life on Ireland’s Aran Islands with naturalistic beauty and historical detail.
17. A Shine of Rainbows
A lonely orphan’s life is transformed by an extraordinary woman who teaches him to conquer grief and discover the magic in nature and himself.
18. The Field
When a field goes up for auction, the patriarch of the McCabe family will stop at nothing to prevent a rich American from buying it.
19. The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces.
20. High Spirits
When a hotelier tries to fill vacancies by falsely portraying the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up, leading to unexpected romantic entanglements.
21. P.S. I Love You
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
22. When Brendan Met Trudy
A teacher meets a woman who turns out to be a thief, and they introduce each other to new things.
23. The Purple Taxi
Dr. Seamus Scully, with his mauve taxi, runs around the small green roads of the south of Ireland, becoming confident of his patients’ troubles while trying to help them find their way.
24. Darby O’Gill and the Little People
A wily old codger matches wits with the King of the Leprechauns and plays matchmaker for his daughter and the lad who has replaced him as caretaker.
25. Finian’s Rainbow
Half way through the list of 50 best written St. Patrick’s Day movies is Finian’s Rainbow. An Irish immigrant and his daughter move into a town in the American South with a magical piece of gold that will change people’s lives.
26. The Secret of Roan Inish
Young Fiona, living with her grandparents in a small fishing village, takes an active role in unraveling mysterious secrets.
27. Evelyn
Desmond’s wife leaves him and their three kids after Christmas 1953, and as he finds a job, he tries to get his kids back.
28. Ondine
An Irish fisherman discovers a woman in his fishing net whom his precocious daughter believes to be a selkie.
29. Dancing at Lughnasa
Five unmarried sisters make the most of their simple existence in rural Ireland in the 1930s.
30. Agnes Browne
The unexpected death of her husband sends a woman and her seven children into emotional turmoil and financial crisis in 1967 Dublin.
31. Zonad
When the Cassidy family finds a red leather-clad man passed out on their living room floor, they assume he’s an alien. Zonad is more than happy to oblige.
32. Rat
A woman becomes furious when her husband arrives home from the local pub and turns into a rat.
33. The Butcher Boy
The antisocial son of an alcoholic father and a bipolar mother grows up in 1960s Ireland.
34. Mickybo and Me
This movie tells the story of two boys who become friends at the start of the Troubles in 1970. They share an obsession with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), leading to them running away to Australia.
35. Song for a Raggy Boy
The true story of a single teacher’s courage to stand up against an untouchable prefect’s sadistic disciplinary regime and other abuse in a Catholic Reformatory and Industrial School in 1939 Ireland.
36. The Legend of Longwood
A young girl moves from New York to a mythical village in Ireland.
37. The Run of the Country
In a small village on the border of Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland, the relationship between a short-tempered policeman and his rebellious son becomes even more strenuous when the young man falls for a “wrong” girl.
38. This Is the Sea
Hazel is a Protestant, and Malachy a Catholic. Romance between them is threatened by Rohan, who wants Malachy to be recruited and fight for the cause.
39. Jimmy’s Hall
During the Depression, Jimmy Gralton returns home to Ireland after ten years of exile in America. Seeing the levels of poverty and oppression, the activist in him reawakens, and he looks to re-open the dance hall that led to his deportation.
40. Stella Days
A small-town cinema in rural Ireland becomes the setting for a dramatic struggle between faith and passion, Rome and Hollywood, and a man and his conscience.
41. Da
A New York playwright is summoned to Ireland to bury his father (his “Da”). While at his boyhood home, he encounters his father’s spirit and relives memories both pleasant and not.
42. The Runway
The citizens of Ireland’s County Cork come to the aid of a South American pilot who has crash-landed in their town.
43. Leap Year
Anna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland, to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29, leap day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.
44. The Van
Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Barrytown, Bimbo is a baker who loses his job after being made redundant. Bimbo then acquires the help of his best friend, Larry, to set up a successful burger van.
45. My Left Foot
Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb – his left foot.
46. Angela’s Ashes
An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child’s death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
47. The Bachelor Weekend
A bachelor party weekend in the great outdoors takes some unexpected detours.
48. Breakfast on Pluto
In the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick “Kitten” Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town’s understanding.
49. Handsome Devil
Ned and Conor are forced to share a bedroom at their boarding school. The loner and the star athlete at this rugby-mad school form an unlikely friendship until it’s tested by the authorities.
50. Grabbers
Last on the list of 50 best written St. Patrick’s Day movies is Grabbers. When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive.