Kiss These 7 Movies, They’re Irish

The cold weather has returned and suddenly the couch seems more appealing than a pub for St. Patrick’s Day. Get into the Irish spirit from home with these seven Irish movies, some dating back decades.

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The Quiet Man (1952)

Sean Thornton (John Wayne), an Irish-born American boxer from Pittsburgh, retires from boxing—his one love and passion. Trying to escape his past, Sean travels back to the Irish village where he was born and finds another true love.

My Left Foot (1989)

Irishman Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis) was born with the movement disorder cerebral palsy. He learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb—his left foot. Christy’s new hobbies help him battle many hardships that come his way.

In the Name of the Father (1993)

In 1974, the Irish Republican Army detonated bombs at two pubs in Guildford, England killing four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and four of his friends are coerced into confessing to a crime they did not commit. Gerry’s father travels to England to help his son, but is also falsely convicted of the crime. Gerry fights for justice in the name of his father.

The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Three young Irish women are cast away to Magdalene Asylums, homes for women who were labelled as “fallen” by their families or society. The film details the inhumane abuse that the girls endure in the asylum and their efforts to escape.

In America (2003)

After the tragic death of their son, Irish couple Johnny and Sarah Sullivan (Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton) illegally immigrate to the United States with their two children. With little in their pockets, the family struggles to adjust to life on the then mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. Eldest child Christy records their journey on her camcorder.

Once (2006)

Two struggling musicians in Dublin, Ireland come together to make music. Upon working through their past sufferings with love, the two reveal their love for each other through their music.

Brooklyn (2015)

Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish girl, immigrates to Brooklyn with the help of her sister Rose. She quickly falls in love with an Italian local, but when tragedy strikes back home in Ireland, Eilis must choose between the two countries and the lives she holds within them.