EPIC takes on Letterboxd: Our top four Irish movies that really understand Ireland

The Irish Movies That Get It Right

There are countless very talented people connected to this island. When they get involved in a project, it’s fantastic. The likes of Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Kerrie Condon, Saoirse Ronan, Fiona Shaw, the Gleesons, Sharon Horgan, Alison Oliver, Michael Fassbender, Robert Sheehan, Peter Coonan himself, are just a few examples of the wonderful talent of the Irish.

In recent years, Irish actors and filmmakers have really been getting their flowers. Just look at the 2023 Oscar nominations. And yet, setting a movie in Ireland, and more importantly doing it well, seems impossible. Is it hard for filmmakers to believe a true Irish accent is Irish enough, or that they don’t need to add diddly-eye flute music in the backdrop of every scene to properly establish we are on the Emerald Isle? Why? Because when the movies get Ireland right, they really get it right.

The next time Hollywood is looking to make an Irish movie, we suggest the following as research.

1. Brooklyn (2014)

Based on the Colm Tóibín novel of the same name, Brooklyn follows Eilis in the 1950s as she makes the move to America. She leaves behind Enniscorthy, County Wexford, for the expansive Brooklyn borough of New York City. Here Eilis must learn to accept her new life, made easier upon meeting New York Italian Tony. But tragedy back in Ireland has Eilis torn between the two homes.

Brooklyn toes the line of stereotypical, at least to a non-Irish audience. It maintains that cosy small town Irish feel, but keeps the authenticity by changing the era. Wild Mountain Thyme doesn’t work because it is a) set in the modern day, but looks more like the 1920s and b) stars Jamie Dornan who really ought to have known better before embarking on the project. Ronan, so often heard acting in an accent that is not her own, gets to truly embody her Irish self here.

She masterfully brings  all the emotion of a girl forced to emigrate to America. We experience the quintessential Irish town that Hollywood so often tries to portray, and all the difficulties of a young woman growing up there. When Eilis ends up in Brooklyn, you get the familiar “fish out of water” trope. Eilis wearing a two-piece bikini for the first time and being taught how to eat spaghetti properly comes off as authentic. Never is she portrayed as simple or uneducated. Instead she is smart, independent, and whether she likes it or not, makes a life for herself in America. She does just what thousands of Irish people did 100 years before her.

Ronan’s performance anchors the film with authenticity and nuance. Beyond Brooklyn, her versatility as an actor is remarkable. She earned her first Oscar nomination at the age of 13 for her role in Atonement. She cannot be typecast, every role she plays is entirely different from the other. Whether she’s playing one of literature’s most beloved character Jo March in Little Women, or a bratty teenager from Sacramento in Lady Bird, or a struggling alcoholic trying to get clean in The Outrun, her talent knows no bounds. We’re very happy to claim her as one of our own.

2. Sing Street (2016)

If you’re looking for an Irish coming of age story, look no further than Sing Street. Set in 1985, the movie follows Cosmo as he’s transferred to a new school in the wake of his parents’ financial difficulties. Now going to school on Synge Street, Cosmo’s woes lift slightly when he meets Raphina, his dream girl with great hair volume. Cosmo thinks the only way to spend more time with her is if she stars in his music video. The only issue? There is no band, and talent is few and far between.

This film has a lot of heart and shows Dublin for how it was. It’s complete with recognisable accents and a host of Irish talent. Unlike the Hollywood version of Ireland, this one has grit. It has grey amongst the green, and it touches on the tone of the decade authentically. There’s no Celtic Tiger in sight. Life is tough for Dubliners like Cosmo’s parents, played by Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy. This leads to a desperate hope for distraction and Cosmo finds it in first love and in music. As the movie says, the band isn’t exactly The Beatles, but there is beauty in their coming together. Community and friendship builds amid their music. It does the classic coming of age story, boy likes girl, boy goes through challenges to impress girl, and hilarity and heartbreak ensue.

Yet it feels fresh thanks to its infectious soundtrack. It draws inspiration from 1980s icons like Duran Duran, The Cure, and The Jam – and it portrays Dublin adolescence with tenderness, even at its most brutal. Director John Carney, himself Dublin-born, is no stranger to capturing the spirit of ordinary Irish lives. He once again proves he understands the alchemy of music and storytelling. His deep connection to the city infuses the film with reality, blending the sounds of the era with original songs that feel instantly familiar.

Sing Street is perhaps a lesser known film, but it manages to portray a time gone by honestly and beautifully. Underrated, we urge you to give it a watch.

3. The Banshees on Inisherin (2022)

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite in Martin McDonagh’s film The Banshees of Inisherin. This is a quirky little tale that sees the end of a friendship, and the unexpected violence that occurs. When Colm decides he no longer wants to be friends with Pádraic, he makes his point very clear, leaving his long-term friend devastated and unaccepting of the news. The more Pádraic tries to continue on as normal, the more Colm rages against him, until he threatens an extreme act of violence to get his point across.

To the untrained eye, The Banshees of Inisherin might look like yet another stereotypical Irish story produced by Hollywood. But within the first ten minutes, you quickly realise it’s nothing of the sort. Set in the same year the Irish Civil War ended, this film takes place on a fictional island off Cork. It deals with the breakdown between people who once shared the “same side” during political conflict.

The initial “simple” setting becomes not so simple at all. Pádraic and Colm’s lives are upended – they look the same on the outside, but something has irrevocably changed. Colm understands this and cuts his losses, and Pádraic, from his life. Pádraic can’t grasp this at all. He doesn’t understand how Colm, someone who “liked [him] yesterday” could turn so cold. In the distance, the sound of gunfire is an omniscient presence; never quite reaching the island physically, but seeping into the characters’ minds all the same

Banshees captured audiences in Ireland and far beyond, buoyed by a wave of Oscar nominations. It’s a prime example of how to portray Ireland as it was – without losing an international audience. It does what Hollywood so often attempts, but instead of caricaturing its characters, it brings nuance, humour, and intelligence. McDonagh, whose Irishness and darkly comic sensibility are evident in all his work, has an instinctive understanding of how to balance absurdity with tragedy. His background as a playwright is especially apparent here, with dialogue that feels sharp and theatrical and scenes that often unfold like a series of perfectly staged acts.

Honourable Mention: Starring the same leads as Banshees, In Bruges is a wild ride that enthralls from start to finish. Another movie that may, at its surface appear to lean into stereotypes, this dark comedy instead goes deeper into the cycle of violence, and the impossible task of freeing ourselves from it.

4. Kneecap (2024)

The most recent movie on this list is Kneecap, an autobiography about an Irish rap trio from Belfast. What makes it unique is that it stars the band playing themselves in the film. This biopic shows how the group, Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh), came together through their passion for the Irish language, music, and nationalism. The film packs a lot into its 105-minute runtime. It spotlights the Irish language in a movement that’s both defiant and stubborn. It depicts post-Troubles tensions among the “cease-fire generation” and explores the politics of protest, whether through music, fashion, or language. In doing so, Kneecap doesn’t just tell a personal story it also takes a facet of Irish life and brings it to life: our politics.

While the politics of our past are well documented – particularly when it comes to the Troubles and the Civil War – what’s less focused on is the more current political time we’re living through. Kneecap expresses the frustrations of a generation who have been “freed from oppression”. Theoretically they should have everything they want at their disposal, should be grateful to have escaped the conflict. Instead society fails to recognise the magnitude of generational trauma, treating it as though it’s only a buzz-phrase. Set against the back drop of the Irish Language Act, an act that would pass in 2022 and recognise Irish as a state language on the same pedestal as English, Kneecap presents Ireland’s activism and identity, following 800 years of occupation.

Joining recent films like An Cailin Ciúin when it comes to its awareness of the Irish language, Kneecap has exploded in popularity in the last year, mostly for their music, but their acting also deserves recognition. Ironically the film won the Best British Independent Film in 2024 – a nod that’s not lost on a group whose work lampoons British identity. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Kneecap was met with a standing ovation and quickly secured distribution deals.

Further watching

Of course, there’s a host more Irish movies, or movies starring Irish actors, that are worth shouting about. That’s the beauty of a country with so much talent, a country that puts storytelling as a core value. In the above four films, we see Ireland in four different decades – the 20s, the 50s, the 80s, and the late 2010s. None of these movies look the same, nor would you expect four movies from four different decades to look the same.

Yet, most Hollywood Irish movies look mostly like Banshees, sometimes like Brooklyn, but often set in the present-day. Or worse, they are set in an astral plane where time doesn’t exist, almost like you see in Apple TV’s Severance, which is purposefully vague on when it’s set due to the mystery behind the show. For Hollywood, Ireland is stuck in one time – they may afford us mobile phones and cars from time to time, but the promise of muck, both literal and metaphorical, is never far away.

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