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The Best Movies Set in Ireland

The Best Movies Set in Ireland

Ireland is rich in character and history alike and so too are many of the films that take place there. The most recent examples are Colm Bairéad’s “The Quiet Girl,” about a 9-year-old girl sent to spend the summer with distant relatives on an isolated farm, and Martin McDonagh’s multi-Oscar-nominated “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which uses the feud between two friends as an analogue for the Irish Civil War of the early 1920s. 

Other titles such as 1993’s “In the Name of the Father” and 1996’s “Some Mother’s Son” incorporate the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and Ireland’s fight for independence into their respective narratives. (These are the best movies based on real events or people.)

Of course, not every great film set in Ireland is concerned with the island’s various political struggles. Take Jim Sheridan’s 1989 biopic “My Left Foot,” for example, which follows real-life artist Christy Brown and stars Daniel Day-Lewis in one of his most impressive roles. More than an award-winning classic, it helped usher in an entire wave of Ireland-based films throughout the 1990s, including two more collaborations between Sheridan and Day-Lewis. (Day-Lewis is among the actors who retired far earlier than anyone expected.)

To determine the best films set in Ireland, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of March 2023, weighting all ratings equally. Only movies set fully or partially in Ireland or Northern Ireland were considered.  

As there’s really no wrong point of entry into Ireland’s unique culture and history, one can reliably start with any of the movies on our list. Some are informative while others are entertaining and most are a bit of both. If nothing else, they help provide an illuminating window into life on the Emerald Isle.

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

30. Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (9,900 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (2,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 50% (18 reviews)
> Directed by: David Lean

This period melodrama takes place in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, when Irish rebels attempted to overthrow British rule. It centers around the affair between a married Irish schoolteacher (Sarah Miles) and a British soldier (Christopher Jones). Their romance unfolds against a fraught socio-political backdrop.

Source: Getty Images

29. Angela’s Ashes (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (21,347 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (22,699 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 51% (86 reviews)
> Directed by: Alan Parker

This sweeping drama culls from the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of the same name by Frank McCourt and depicts the author’s adolescent experiences. It opens in Brooklyn before following McCourt and his family back to their native Ireland, where they struggle to survive.

Source: Jeff Spicer / Getty Images

28. The Playboys (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (1,206 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (1,021 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (24 reviews)
> Directed by: Gillies MacKinnon

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Shane Connaughton co-wrote this period drama, which was filmed in his Irish birthplace of Redhills, County Cavan. It tells the story of an unwed mother (Robin Wright) whose romantic desires stir up her small village in the 1950s.

Source: Courtesy of STX Entertainment

27. The Foreigner (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (108,142 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (16,373 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 66% (126 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin Campbell

From the director of 2006’s “Casino Royale” comes this geopolitical action thriller, shot in both Northern Ireland and England. When his daughter is killed in a terrorist bombing, a vengeful ex-military operative (Jackie Chan) gets embroiled in a deadly IRA conspiracy.

Source: Courtesy of Savoy Pictures

26. Circle of Friends (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (8,377 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (16,827 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (36 reviews)
> Directed by: Pat O’Connor

This coming-of-age drama, based on the bestselling novel of the same name, takes place at the University of Dublin in 1957. Once childhood friends, three young women reconnect at college and each embarks on her own romantic adventure. The conflict between carnal desire and religious orthodoxy is a recurring theme.

Source: Courtesy of MCA/Universal Pictures

25. The Boxer (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (20,080 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (8,323 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (70 reviews)
> Directed by: Jim Sheridan

The third and final collaboration between Daniel Day-Lewis and Irish director Jim Sheridan tells the story of boxer Danny Flynn (Day-Lewis). After serving a 14-year prison stint for his involvement with the Provisional IRA, Flynn re-enters society and attempts to put his life back together. Primarily a character-driven drama, the film also delivers plenty of political context.

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

24. Into the West (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (2,966 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (2,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (13 reviews)
> Directed by: Mike Newell

Two young boys set out to rescue their stolen horse in this magical realist adventure. It takes inspiration from the stories of Irish Travellers – aka “the walking people” – an ethno-cultural group that still lives in Ireland to this day.

Source: Getty Images

23. Some Mother’s Son (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (2,744 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (1,800 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 69% (16 reviews)
> Directed by: Terry George

This harrowing drama takes place during the real-life hunger strike led by IRA prisoner Bobby Sands in 1981. Outside the prison walls, two of the strikers’ mothers (Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan) fight to save their sons’ lives.

Source: Courtesy of Geffen Pictures

22. The Butcher Boy (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (10,775 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (6,107 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (61 reviews)
> Directed by: Neil Jordan

Irish director Neil Jordan was in the midst of an impressive career run when he helmed this pitch-black comedy. Against the backdrop of 1962 Ireland, an antisocial boy (Eamonn Owens) retreats from his bleak reality into a fantasy world of his own creation. When the line between these two worlds diminishes, it results in a shocking act of violence.

Source: Courtesy of Geffen Pictures

21. Michael Collins (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (30,654 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (21,333 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: Neil Jordan

Liam Neeson plays historical figure Michael Collins in this Oscar-nominated biopic of the same name. In his fierce struggle for Ireland’s independence, Collins must negotiate with the enemy and betray former allies. Variety critic Todd McCarthy called it “intelligent, enormously accomplished and seriously problematic.”

Source: Courtesy of Artisan Entertainment

20. I Went Down (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (2,094 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (755 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (19 reviews)
> Directed by: Pаddy Breathnach

An ex-con (David Wilmot) teams up with a dim-witted mobster (Brendan Gleeson) for a dangerous job in this wisecracking crime comedy. It puts an Irish twist on the classic “odd couple” premise and doubles as an eventful road movie.

Source: Courtesy of Vestron Pictures

19. The Dead (1987)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (8,153 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (2,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (29 reviews)
> Directed by: John Huston

A famous short story by Irish author James Joyce laid the groundwork for this acclaimed drama. Over the course of a single night in 1904, a Dublin-based married couple (Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann) experience subtle revelations. Director John Huston’s final film, it was released months after his death.

Source: Courtesy of Entertainment One

18. Calvary (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (59,423 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (173 reviews)
> Directed by: John Michael McDonagh

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson delivers a top-notch performance as Father James in this mysterious crime dramedy. After his life is threatened by an unseen man, the good-natured priest finds himself grappling with dark forces from within his own community.

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

17. The Crying Game (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (53,518 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (31,869 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (66 reviews)
> Directed by: Neil Jordan

Director Neil Jordan captured the indie zeitgeist with this dramatic thriller, which features one of the most iconic reveals in movie history. The story centers on a Provisional IRA volunteer (Stephen Rea), who forges a complex romantic relationship while trying to escape from his violent past. It won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

16. The Informer (1935)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (6,183 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (1,085 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (16 reviews)
> Directed by: John Ford

Best known for his classic Old Hollywood Westerns, director John Ford tackled Irish history and politics with this heralded drama. Against the backdrop of the Irish Revolution of 1922, an IRA outcast (Victor McLaglen) turns on his former partners and suffers the consequences. It won four Academy Awards.

Source: Courtesy of Films We Like

15. Good Vibrations (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (5,198 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (36 reviews)
> Directed by: Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn

This historical biopic tells the true story of Terri Hooley (played by Richard Dormer), who opened a record store in Belfast in the midst of The Troubles. Empowered by his radical politics and pure love of music, Hooley helps usher in a local punk movement. Writing for The Australian, critic Eddie Cockrell called it “a film that is determined to live up to its title.”

Source: Courtesy of IFC Films

14. Hunger (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (70,340 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (50,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (133 reviews)
> Directed by: Steve McQueen

The feature directorial debut from Steve McQueen documents the real-life 1981 Maze Prison hunger strike from multiple perspectives. German-born, Irish-raised actor Michael Fassbender plays IRA prisoner Bobby Sands, who leads the strike in an effort to gain recognized political status for himself and others.

Source: Ian Gavan / Getty Images

13. ’71 (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (56,286 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (140 reviews)
> Directed by: Yann Demange

This historical action thriller, which takes place in Belfast during the early years of The Troubles, kicks off with a deadly street riot. Accidentally abandoned by his unit, a British soldier (Jack O’Connell) must survive the night as he navigates hostile terrain.

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Film Distribution Company

12. Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (7,713 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (9,527 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (15 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Stevenson

Walt Disney Studios produced this fantasy adventure, based on a series of Irish stories by writer Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Follow wily codger Darby O’Gill (Albert Sharpe) as he chases leprechauns and attempts to ward off an evil banshee spirit.

Source: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

11. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (157,465 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (344 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin McDonagh

Director Martin McDonagh’s latest dramedy reteams him with “In Bruges” stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Set on the fictional isle of Inisherin in 1923, it chronicles the fallout between two lifelong friends (Farrell and Gleeson). Just beneath the narrative veneer is a complex allegory about the Irish Civil War. It won nine Oscar nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (for two different performers), and Best Supporting Actress – but didn’t take any statuettes home.

Source: Courtesy of Focus Features

10. Belfast (2021)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (78,534 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (1,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (327 reviews)
> Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical drama follows 9-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill) as he comes of age during the onset of The Troubles. The story unfolds through a series of childhood adventures against an encroaching backdrop of political unrest. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Source: Courtesy of Pathé International

9. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (50,362 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (117 reviews)
> Directed by: Ken Loach

Ken Loach’s sweeping drama channels Irish history through the story of two brothers in arms (Cillian Murphy and Pádraic Delaney). Joined together in Ireland’s fight for independence, the brothers are pitted against each other in the subsequent civil war. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, it was also the highest-grossing independent Irish-made film of its time.

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

8. The Commitments (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (34,153 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (28,407 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: Alan Parker

A group of working-class Dubliners form an unlikely soul covers band in this inspired musical dramedy. Of its two separate soundtrack albums, one achieved triple-platinum status while the other reached gold status. The film also won four BAFTA Awards out of six nominations.

Source: Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

7. Philomena (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (97,066 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (52,457 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (200 reviews)
> Directed by: Stephen Frears

Adapted from a “nonfiction novel,” this stunning drama alternates between past and present and highlights a number of important issues. At the heart of the story is Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an Irishwoman who wants to find the missing son she was forced to abandon as a teenager. She enlists the help of a journalist (Steve Coogan) and their journey leads to some stark revelations.

Source: Courtesy of The Samuel Goldwyn Company

6. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (8,888 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (7,336 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: John Sayles

This independent fantasy drama was inspired by folklore about the selkies, mythological beings who could transform from seals into humans. It takes place in the small fishing village of Roan Inish, where a young girl uncovers the secret behind her brother’s disappearance. Hollywood Reporter critic Michael Rechtshaffen called it “a first-rate, all-ages fairy tale.”

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Classics

5. Bloody Sunday (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (24,834 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (106 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Greengrass

Before tackling the Jason Bourne franchise, director Paul Greengrass helmed this gripping reenactment of the infamous “Bloody Sunday” shootings in 1972. What begins as an Irish protest for independence turns into a deadly massacre when British soldiers start firing upon unarmed civilians. Some scenes were shot at the location of the actual event.

Source: Courtesy of Republic Pictures

4. The Quiet Man (1952)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (36,647 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (30,453 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: John Ford

Director John Ford (of “The Informer”) returned to Ireland for this romantic dramedy, one among a number of collaborations with movie star John Wayne. The story takes place in 1920 and follows retired boxer Sean Thornton (Wayne) to the small Irish village of his birth. Upon courting a local woman (Maureen O’Hara) and purchasing a property, Thornton draws the ire of the town bully.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

3. Barry Lyndon (1975)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (158,341 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (45,166 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (74 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Director Stanley Kubrick took inspiration from historical paintings when crafting this lush period dramedy, based on an 1844 novel. It chronicles the exploits of Irish rogue Barry Lyndon (Ryan O’Neal), who marries into the life of an aristocrat. “This is a masterclass in cinematography,” wrote critic Wendy Ide for the Observer (UK).

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

2. My Left Foot (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (74,218 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (42 reviews)
> Directed by: Jim Sheridan

The first of three collaborations between director Jim Sheridan and actor Daniel Day-Lewis tells the true story of Irish artist Christy Brown. Suffering from cerebral palsy, Brown creates paintings, prose, and poetry using only his left foot. Day-Lewis reportedly stayed in character during production and went on to win his first Academy Award for his performance.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

1. In the Name of the Father (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (173,940 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Jim Sheridan

For their second collaboration, director Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis set their sights on real-life historical figure Gerry Conlon. Falsely imprisoned for an IRA bombing he didn’t commit, Conlon spends 15 long years trying to clear his name. The film currently holds the #188 position on IMDb’s list of the Top 250 Movies.

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