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With St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon and small-town parades all around the world marching with Irish pride, you and your loved ones might want to settle in for a movie night this weekend to celebrate. Whether Irish blood courses through your veins or you simply uphold a lifelong tradition, there are plenty of family-friendly flicks centered on this historical time of year.
While some movies are straight from the Walt Disney powerhouse, others are timeless and educational, dating back as far as the 1950s. Regardless of whether you’re looking for pure entertainment or teaching the youngsters about their heritage, there’s something for everyone on this St. Patrick’s Day.
5. Disney’s The Luck of the Irish
Kyle Johnson is a fortunate 15-year-old with the luck of the Irish on his side. He is the best basketball player on his high school team and everything seems to fall into his lap. One day, everything changes for Kyle when he realizes that his lucky gold coin has been stolen by an evil leprechaun named Seamus. When he rushes home to tell his parents, Kyle is horrified to discover that his mother has shrunk to only one foot tall. She reveals that she is, in fact, a leprechaun and Kyle is one too.
The Luck of the Irish was first broadcast on March 9, 2001, one week before St. Patrick’s Day. It has been called one of the strangest Disney Channel Original Movies ever made but don’t let that deter you from giving it a shot. There are plenty of ties to Irish heritage that are informative to younger minds. And the adults might even get a laugh out of it too.
4. The Secret of Roan Inish
Based on the 1957 novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry by Rosalie K. Fry, The Secret of Roan Inish centers on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies — seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story takes place in Ulster in the north-west of Ireland and follows Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents and her cousin near Roan Inish, an island where the selkies are said to reside (according to legend). It is believed by Fiona’s family that her younger brother was raised by a selkie in his infancy.
Fun fact: Over 1,000 girls were tested for the role of Fiona and the actresses were required to be “Thin, underweight, pale complexion, but perky and not afraid of water.” The film was restored in 2020 to a clearer digital copy.
3. The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne, was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story of the same name by Irish author Maurice Walsh. That same short story was later published as part of a collection titled The Green Rushes. Set in the 1920s, The Quiet Man follows Irish retired boxer Sean Thornton, who travels from Pittsburgh to Ireland to purchase his old family farm. He meets and falls in love with a woman named Mary Danaher, the sister of Will, who also wants to purchase the farm. When the property owner accepts Sean’s bid over Wills, the latter retaliates by refusing to allow Sean to marry his sister.
The movie itself isn’t too widely known outside of the Irish community. In modern media, however, the scene where John Wayne kisses Maureen O’Hara during a storm appears on a television set in a scene of the Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
2. The Secret of Kells
Like The Luck of the Irish, another Disney venture comes in the form of The Secret of Kells. The 2009 animated fantasy-drama chronicles the making of the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript from the 9th century. Set in Ireland during the viking expansion, the film centers on Brendan, a young boy under the care of his uncle, who secretly works as an apprentice in the scriptorium of the local monastery to study the art of calligraphy. Against his uncle’s wishes, revered illuminator Aidan arrives at the monastery and recruits Brendan to overpower the vikings.
The Secret of Kells can be compared to Hayao Miyazaki’s works such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. So if you or your children are fans of anime, Tomm Moore’s animated adventure is an excellent substitute focused specifically on Irish culture.
1. Darby O’Gill and the Little People
Another Walt Disney production (Disney must have a lot of Irish employees, huh?) that’s perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is Darby O’Gill and the Little People. This film emulates the same feel-good atmosphere as The Wizard of Oz does, if that’s any indication as to whether or not children would enjoy it. Albert Sharpe plays O’Gill, a man who consistently tries to catch a tribe of leprechauns, namely their king, Brian Connors. The leprechauns kidnap Darby to prevent his daughter Katie from finding out that Lord Fitzpatrick, the owner of the estate he works for, has replaced him.
The pic is an exploration of Irish mythology at its finest and the on-screen chemistry between Sharpe and Janet Munro (Katie) is certainly a sight to behold. Despite releasing in the late 1950s, Darby O’Gill and the Little People still holds up as one of Disney’s most thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable films.
