14 Best Irish Movies to Watch

By Vlad Zakh · September 1, 2026

Ireland Drama thought provoking feel good

Irish cinema keeps coming back to the tension between hard history and warm, plain-spoken humour, whether it’s a wrongful conviction or a Dublin busker recording an album in one intimate week. Brooklyn follows an immigrant in 1950s New York torn between two lives, The Guard teams an unorthodox rural policeman with an FBI agent, and Angela’s Ashes recalls poverty in 1930s Limerick. Room is devastating in its first half and hopeful by the end. Once, Sing Street, The Banshees of Inisherin, My Left Foot, Michael Collins and The Wind That Shakes the Barley round out the list.

Brooklyn (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.5

An Irish immigrant in 1950s New York is torn between her new life and the one she left behind.

Directed by John Crowley · 1h 51m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Room (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 93% Metacritic 86

A young mother and her son, raised in captivity, must adjust to life after their escape.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson · 1h 58m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar108 wins & 143 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Guard (2011)

TMDB ★ 7.2

An unorthodox rural Irish police officer teams up with an FBI agent on a drug-smuggling case.

Directed by John Michael McDonagh · 1h 36m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Angela's Ashes (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A family's grinding poverty in 1930s Limerick, recalled through a son's eventual escape to America.

Directed by Alan Parker · 2h 25m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Two Irish brothers join the fight for independence, only to find themselves divided by the peace.

Directed by Ken Loach · 2h 07m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Acorn TV · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A man is devastated when his lifelong best friend abruptly ends their friendship on a remote Irish island.

Directed by Martin McDonagh · 1h 54m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow · Rent: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sing Street (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 95% Metacritic 79

A Dublin teenager starts a band purely to impress a girl, and it becomes much more than that.

Directed by John Carney · 1h 45m · Rated PG-13

16 wins & 45 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Starz Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Once (2007)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 97% Metacritic 90

A Dublin busker and a Czech immigrant record an album together over one unexpectedly intimate week.

Directed by John Carney · 1h 25m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar25 wins & 31 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: BroadwayHD, Broadway HD Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

My Left Foot (1989)

TMDB ★ 7.8

A man born with cerebral palsy becomes an acclaimed painter and writer using only his left foot.

Directed by Jim Sheridan · 1h 43m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

In the Name of the Father (1993)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 94% Metacritic 84

An Irishman wrongly imprisoned for an IRA bombing fights for years to clear his name.

Directed by Jim Sheridan · 2h 13m · Rated R

Nominated for 7 Oscars7 wins & 41 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Michael Collins (1996)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A revolutionary leader's fight for Irish independence collides with the compromises of the treaty that follows.

Directed by Neil Jordan · 2h 12m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Commitments (1991)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A group of working-class Dublin kids form an unlikely soul band against all odds.

Directed by Alan Parker · 1h 58m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Calvary (2014)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A good priest is given seven days to prepare for his own murder, promised by a parishioner he wronged long ago.

Directed by John Michael McDonagh · 1h 41m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Quiet Girl (2022)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A neglected girl sent to live with distant relatives for a summer experiences real kindness for the first time.

Directed by Colm Bairéad · 1h 35m

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

14 Best Irish Movies to Watch

Brooklyn (2015)

Room (2015)

The Guard (2011)

Angela's Ashes (1999)

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Sing Street (2016)

Once (2007)

My Left Foot (1989)

In the Name of the Father (1993)

Michael Collins (1996)

The Commitments (1991)

Calvary (2014)

The Quiet Girl (2022)

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