St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon, and there are plenty of great movies to watch if you’re looking to celebrate the season. The holiday has become a day of revelry that’s nominally rooted in Irish culture and history. While people of any nationality can enjoy the season in any way they want, there’s a certain joy that comes with doing the Riverdance and reflecting on the natural beauty (and occasional crassness) of St. Patrick’s Day.
There are plenty of great Irish films that audiences can check out, with the sardonic harshness of The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) or dramas like In the Name of the Father (1993) that do a good job highlighting the dramatic heritage and complex history of the nation. There are also some great TV shows for audiences looking to immerse themselves in the culture, especially the delightful Derry Girls (2018). However, these movies are more firmly rooted in celebrating the kind of varied and even multinational approaches to Irish culture that are ideal for a party, a date night, or just a good hangout.
The Luck of the Irish (2001)
A wacky film for younger audiences—and a great campy movie to turn into a drinking game for older viewers—The Luck of the Irish is a bizarre fusion of the Irish mythology that surrounds St. Patrick’s Day. The Disney Channel Original movie comes from an era of absurdist sports movies for kids, where titles like Air Bud (1997) and Angels in the Outfield (1994) were incredibly popular. The film follows a high school basketball star who finds out he’s descended from leprechauns and that his almost supernaturally good luck is a part of that heritage.
Goofy and earnest in a way that appeals to kids, some elements of this movie haven’t aged the best. However, there’s a lot of charm in this strange little relic of made-for-TV movies, and it’s a great bit of nostalgia for anyone who was a kid at the turn of the century.
The Secret of Kells (2009)
If you’re having a St. Patrick’s Day party with younger audiences in mind, then you can’t go wrong with almost the entire filmography of Cartoon Saloon, although make sure to start with The Secret of Kells. This gorgeously animated medieval-set film focuses on a young monk who befriends a magical girl from the forest. Stylish and beautifully rendered like a fusion of a storybook adventure and the dynamic designs of Samurai Jack (2001), The Secret of the Kells is a fantasy adventure that is quick-paced, emotionally powerful, and a delightful experience for all ages.
While Song of the Sea (2014) and Wolfwalkers (2020) are maybe even better, The Secret of Kells possesses such a clear love for Irish folklore and art that it’s an easy must-watch for a day meant to celebrate the nation and its heritage.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
On the other end of the spectrum from the more family-friendly fare of the previous two entries on this list, The Boodock Saints is an explosive, profane, and campy action throwback with an American-Irish flavor. Focused on a pair of Irish immigrants who kill a group of criminals in self-defense, the film follows their burgeoning roles as vigilantes against local organized crime. The riff feels straight out of The Punisher (2004), but with a more absurd approach to comedy and action and plenty of profane, un-PC characters and gags littered throughout the movie.
It’s a strange action flick that’s worth a skip if you don’t care for the films of Quentin Tarantino. However, the sheer absurdity and its most memorable touches, like a stoner sidekick and Willem DaFoe as a brilliant but quirky detective, are surprisingly compelling. That said, you can definitely skip the lackluster sequel, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009).
The Departed (2006)
A more dramatic approach to the Irish-American experience and one of Martin Scorsese’s best films of the 21st century, The Departed is a crime epic that lives and breathes in the Boston Irish culture, making it an ideal film for the very Americanized Irish holiday. Based on the Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), The Departed focuses on both sides of the law as an undercover cop infiltrates the criminal empire of the monstrous Frank Costello, all while a dirty cop feeds him information on the investigation into his actions.
Tightly constructed and deceptively funny, The Departed is a great character drama that plays with the tropes Scorsese previously employed in Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), but shifted to a version of Boston that fully embraces the Irish-American experience that’s so often associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
Sing Street (2016)
Sweet-natured and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, Sing Street is a love letter to that same period of life that has inspired great comedies like The Breakfast Club (1985) and Bottoms (2025). Focusing on a teenager in Dublin who falls head over heels for a girl at his new school, the movie’s central conceit centers on his efforts to get a band started so he can impress her.
Heartfelt and hilarious, there’s just enough heartbreak in the film to keep it from becoming overly sweet. Similar to something like Derry Girls in terms of tone and execution, fans of that kind of low-key comedy and teenage drama will love Sing Street—and the sheer Irishness of the setting and characters make it a perfect film for St. Patrick’s Day.
Leprechaun (1993)
Leprechaun is a genuinely wacky horror movie that works as an unintentionally hilarious St. Patrick’s Day movie. Following in the footsteps of the slasher era popularized by movies like Friday the 13th (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Leprehacun follows suit, following a murderous version of the mythological creature as he targets a family. Warwick Davis brings a lot of self-aware campy comedy to the film, turning the horror movie into a goofy parody of a horror movie.
The success of the film set off an entire franchise of silly horror movies that feel like perfect parodies of not just St. Patrick’s Day archetypes and the slasher horror genre, but also the imagery that is so often associated with the holiday, even as it goes into inner-city settings or ventures into space. Still, the first film remains the most entertaining entry in the series, with a better balance of the horror inspiration and the comedic elements.
Once (2007)
Once is the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day date night movie, with a great bittersweet romantic core that elevates it above other cinematic love stories. It’s a tale of two aspiring musicians who find themselves drawn to each other not just as collaborators, but also as lovers. There’s a great sense of heart in this film that makes it so enduring, especially as the movie moves along and the seemingly fairy tale romance gives way to a more complex, realistic, and heartbreaking story.
Once acknowledges the often tricky and never-ending sense of hope that comes with love and music. Bolstered by a truly terrific soundtrack, the Irish spirit of artistry, romance, and bittersweet realism fuse together to create something casually whimsical and deeply memorable for St. Patrick’s Day.
