Netflix has no shortage of amazing content, but Irish movies in the list of must-watch Netflix titles bring an oomph factor to your streaming experience.
Stories from Ireland will keep you enchanted to the end. Irish movies on Netflix are familiar with this characteristic and mesmerize you with tales and folklore, as well as endless myths.
There aren’t many countries with a history as long and rich as Ireland. Today, Irish filmmakers continue that storytelling tradition with some great movies available on Netflix. They draw you into the Irish world and make you part of the narration. These fictions will keep you absorbed with their storyline, just like the folktales.
Here is a list of 15 Irish movies on Netflix that will help you enjoy Ireland’s culture.
1. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
Director: Richie Smith
Writers: Kevin Brodbin, Declan Power
Cast: Richard Lukunku, Danny Sapani, Mark Strong, Jamie Dornan, Fionn O’Shea, Sam Keeley.
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
What would you do if paid to fight someone but decided to defend their village? That’s the dilemma Commandant Pat Quinlan faces. He must decide whether to defend Jadotville, a small mining town in the Congo, or follow his paymaster’s orders.
He decides to lead an outnumbered force into battle against the mercenaries’ modern weaponry and air support. Watch this gripping dramatization and discover what happened at the siege of Jadotville.
2. The Young Offenders (2016)
Directors: Peter Foott.
Writers: Peter Foott, Jocelyn Clarke, Hilary Rose.
Cast: Alex Murphy, Chris Walley, Hilary Rose, Dominic MacHale, Ciaran Bermingham.
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
While the corrupt cops deal with local crime boss Eamon Kinsella, two teenage boys are unwittingly drawn into a murderous battle for the stolen drugs.
Adopting the wrong roles of innocent cyclists, they cycle 170km on stolen bikes but get into a deadly chase where a bale of cocaine worth 7 million euros is missing. Based on the real event of Ireland’s biggest cocaine seizure in 2007 of 440 million euro.
3. Sing Street (2016)
Director: John Carney
Writers: Simon Carmody, John Carney.
Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Kelly Thornton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jack Reynor, Aidan Gillen.
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
When budding musician Conor gets heartbroken by the most popular girl in his school, he is clueless about dealing with it.
Luckily, he has his sister and best friend on hand to help him move on, but neither can provide the distraction that matters the most: music. Sing Street is an exuberant joyous movie packed with infectious tunes and soulful performances.
4. Bad Day for the Cut (2017)
Director: Chris Baugh
Writers: Chris Baugh, Brendan Mullin.
Cast: Nigel O’Neill, Susan Lynch, Jozef Pawlowski, Stuart Graham, David Pearse.
IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Having killed his mother by mistake in a botched attempt to kill her, an Irish farmer buries her body and sets off to look for a priest to say some prayers over her.
Instead, he stumbles into a brawl in a lonely country pub and kills an innocent bystander who gets in the way. The farmer embarks on a hare-brained scheme to prove the innocence of the man he’s killed.
5. Song of the Sea (2014)
Director: Tomm Moore
Writers: Will Collins, Tom Moore
Cast: David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Lisa Hannigan, Fionnula Flanagan, Lucy O’Connell.
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Experience a magnificent cinematic experience with the captivating sea-fantasy film Song of the Sea on Netflix. Ben and his sister, Saoirse, embark upon an unexpected and magical adventure when they discover a mysterious man named Selkie, who can turn himself into a seal.
The siblings set out to free Selkie from the dark forces that have taken his seal skin and are conspiring to steal the world of the fairies.
6. Philomena (2013)
Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Steven Coogan, Jeff Pope, Martin Sixsmith.
Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham, Barabara Jefford.
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Against the backdrop of a country amid economic and emotional turmoil, journalist Martin Sixsmith is hired by the mother of Philomena Lee to find her only son.
The unfolding story involves an illegitimate child being taken from his mother in an Irish convent. The movie becomes a revealing examination of faith and religion – as seen through a political journalist’s cynical eyes.
7. The Secret of Kells (2009)
Director: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey
Writers: Tomm Moore, Fabrice Ziolkowski.
Cast: Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally, Christen Mooney, Liam Hourican, Paul Tylak.
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
A story of a young boy caught up in an epic struggle: the battle for creation. Viking raids ravaged Ireland, and Brendan’s isolated abbey is under siege.
As the raiders steal their most valuable possessions, including God’s sacred book, Brendan must embark on an epic quest to bring this treasure to a place of safety. Join the magical journey to unlock the mysteries.
8. Gangs of New York (2002)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent, John C.Reilly.
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
In a fictionalized account of one of the most violent and gang-ridden parts of New York City’s history, Amsterdam Vallon is on a quest for revenge. Amsterdam seeks out his father’s killer, Bill the Butcher, to find justice.
Chaos ensues at Billy’s Chop House in New York City when Amsterdam Vallon and the Delany gang attack with a Gatling gun. Along the way, Amsterdam finds help, and his power develops into leadership skills.
9. In Bruges (2008)
Director: Martin McDonagh
Writers: Martin McDonagh.
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Mark Donovan, Elizabeth Berrington, Olivier Bonjour.
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
What if you were told your next job would be in beautiful Bruges, Belgium? Ray doesn’t like it at all, and that’s because he’s a hitman sent to the place in the world he wants to be.
When a warm-up job with his partner Harry goes wrong, he meets Chloe, an enigmatic American who forces him to reevaluate everything he thinks he knows about right and wrong.
10. Black’47 (2018)
Director: Lance Daly
Writers: P.J. Dillon, Pierce Ryan, Eugene O’Brien.
Cast: Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox, Barry Keoghan, Moe Dunford
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Black ’47 is an action thriller in a classic Western set during the Great Irish Famine of 1847. Feeney, a hardened Irish Ranger who is in a fight, leaves his post to reunite with his family.
Haunted by a tragic past, Feeney must face the deadliest threat of all – hunger, as he fights to secure his famished family’s future once more.
11. Conor McGregor: Notorious (2017)
Director: Gavin Fitzgerald
Cast: Jos Aldo, audie Attar, Ryan Buescher, Kiefer Crosbie, Dillon Danis, Nate Diaz.
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Conor McGregor takes the world of Mixed Martial Arts by storm and grows a massive global following. Take an all-access pass inside the life of Conor McGregor, one of the most electrifying and controversial stars in sports history.
Part biography, part training montage, this chronicle of his life through fight sequences depict the out-sized personality and ambition that led him to surpass all expectations.
12. The Foreigner (2017)
Director: Martin Campbell
Writers: David Marconi, Stephen Leather.
Cast: Katie Leung, Jackie Chan, Rufus Jones, Mark Tandy, Caolan Byrne, Aaron Monaghan.
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
The world’s most boring family takes on the world’s most exciting subject: foreign people. After years of studying abroad and feeling ostracized by his well-meaning white American family, Joel has become a renowned expert on foreign culture and language.
However, in true Simpsons form, they are all so ignorant and close-minded that they are completely closed to learning anything new.
13. The Breadwinner (2017)
Director: Nora Twomey
Writers: Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis
Cast: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Noorin Gulamgaus, Laara Sadiq, Ali Badshah.
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Nominated for the Grand Prize at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, The Breadwinner is an animated story that follows Parvana, a young girl growing up under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
When her father is arrested for teaching her to read, she disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family. This new Netflix original film (2017) contains no dialogue–just subtitles–and features an all-female voice cast.
14. Cardboard Gangsters (2017)
Director: Mark O’Connor
Writers: John Connors, Mark O’Connors
Cast: John Connors, Fionn Walton, Kierston Wareing, Jimmy Smallhorne.
IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Set in the heart of Dublin’s notorious Darndale housing estate, Cardboard Gangsters is the gripping and powerful story of a group of young hoods.
Young boys follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents as they try to protect their turf. In this gripping story, Salvo opens up a world that has rarely been explored, showing us the lives of a new generation in urban Ireland.
15. Derry Girls (2018)
Director: Michael Lennox
Writers: Lisa McGee
Cast: Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn.
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Derry Girls sets in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. This coming-of-age comedy series depicts the early 1990s and follows a class of high school teenagers. They are against the backdrop of political unrest and are trying to deal with everyday life.
Caught between their friends, families, and religion, these teenagers must also contend with leaving school, going to college, and traveling into an unknown future.
Wrapping Up!
Though you can watch anything and everything on Netflix, including comedy, thriller, horror shows, Halloween movies, suspense, horror movies, classic, cartoon, action, romance, cooking shows, sci-fi, reality, kid movies, emotional drama, Marvel shows, and documentaries – it is time to enjoy the best Irish movies on Netflix.
No wonder you can experience a depth of emotions in Irish movies on Netflix. You will fall in love once you finish watching any movie from our playlist. We offer you a great chance to dive deeper into Irish magic.