Celebrate St Patrick's Day at home with this collection of movies and TV shows

Get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit from home, with this collection of movies and TV shows that celebrate Irish culture and resilience.

St Patrick's Day

Source: SBS On Demand

Good Vibrations

Settle in for some great tunes and some fighting Irish spirit in this warm and funny film about Belfast's chaotic godfather of punk, Terri Hooley.

My Left Foot

Daniel Day Lewis is exceptional in his Oscar-winning performance (well, one of them), as artist and author Christy Brown, whose cerebral palsy limited his movement to the single appendage of the title. Brenda Fricker was also a major award winner as Christy's biggest supporter, his mum, and also the film's moral centre.

Blood

In this psychological thriller set in rural Ireland, adult Cat (Carolina Main) returns to her childhood home following her mother’s death from a fall at the bottom of the garden. The simmering tension of this family saga deepens when Cat begins to suspect her father (Adrian Dunbar) is involved. ’s women characters as feeling ‘real, well wrought and fully fleshed out’, with the show’s creator Sophie Petzal never forgetting ‘to find the humour in the smaller moments’.

Season 1 of Blood is now streaming at . Season 2 arrives Thursday 16 April 

Dublin Murders

In a celebration of Irish resilience, we bring you the dark tale of murder and intrigue on the outskirts of Dublin. Detectives Rob Reilly and Cassie Maddox are dispatched to investigate the murder of a young girl, and the detectives are pulled into the psychological intrigue and darkness of the case. Based on the best-sellers "In the Woods" and "The Likeness" by American-Irish writer Tana French, this psychological thriller features a cast of mostly Irish actors, including Killian Scott and Sarah Greene.

Dublin Murders airs on Wednesday nights at 8:30pm on SBS and episodes land weekly at SBS On Demand 

Bloody Sunday

Universally acclaimed, Paul Greengrass's account of The Troubles is a dramatisation of the infamous events of January 30, 1972. A civil rights march took place in Derry, Northern Ireland, and ended with a confrontation between some of the marchers and British army paratroopers, which left 14 marchers dead. The dispute over the events on 'Bloody Sunday' left an open wound in Irish history. Greengrass brings his documentary skills to the fore, in this unsparing, unsensationalised account. 

A Date For Mad Mary

Mary (Seána Kerslake) needs a date for her best friend’s wedding. Trouble is, she’s just been released from prison and doesn’t exactly have anyone in mind. She sets off on a series of dates, determined to find someone to take along and save some face. Winner of Best Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards, director Darren Thornton’s 2016 film is endearingly charming.

The Drummer and The Keeper

A fun and heartwarming movie about self-acceptance, with positive depictions of mental illness and neurodiversity. Gabriel is a chaotic young rock drummer wanting to hide his recent Bipolar diagnosis from his increasingly exasperated band mates Pearse and Toss. At the therapeutic mixed ability football game he's obliged to attend as part of his treatment, Gabriel is spectacularly upended by goalkeeper Christopher, a 17-year-old, with Aspergers Syndrome.

The Secret Scripture

A sweeping historical romance/psychological drama, this film sees us occupy two timelines. In the present day, Lady Rose (Vanessa Redgrave) is an elderly woman who has lived in a hospital for over 50 years. Despite her bleak surroundings there is a light in her eyes that cannot be extinguished. Dr. Stephen Grene (Eric Bana) is drawn to her, compelled to discover her past and help gain her freedom. Through Lady Rose's "scripture", a life of extraordinary love and great injustice emerges, revealing a remarkable young woman of courage, whose only crime was to fall in love. Set against a backdrop of troubled times locally, and chaos internationally, we learn of her ultimate triumph.

Letterkenny

Are you desperately missing the opportunity to participate in a St Patrick's Day parade? a) Don't, it's not wise in this time of social distancing. b) The good people of Letterkenny have you covered, with this episode that recounts the absolute best St Patrick's Day of all time. So good, it's dubbed 'St Perfect's Day'. You couldn't top it if you tried. But seriously, don't try.  

'St Perfect's Day' is available to stream at SBS On Demand. Along with the other


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4 min read
Published 16 March 2020 2:29pm
By Staff writers

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