7 Movies to Get Your Irish Pride On for St. Patrick’s Day
This St. Patrick’s Day You Can Enjoy these Films to Get Your Irish Pride Raring to Go!
They say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Really, I think that’s just so everyone has a legitimate excuse to get plastered on green beer and cheap whiskey. I’m not one to judge, so I thought it would be nice to come up with a few movies that will help you get your faux-Irish pride on just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Being a bit Irish myself, I know that these films always make me feel a bit boastful of my ancestors, which is why I wanted to share them all with you. Don’t expect to find anything too serious on this list of films. After all, the Irish have had a rough go of it in the past and weren’t always held in such warm regard. Since St. Patrick’s Day is more or less a positive holiday, I stuck with movies that won’t give you the “troubles” and, more importantly, a real reason to drink. So, if you’re gearing up to party hard on March 17th, you might want to check these flicks off to inspire you to get paddy pride on!
Leprechaun
St. Patrick’s Day is a special time of year where we all brush off those old Irish stereotypes and proudly display them for our fellow drunks to behold. Perhaps one of the best-known clichés is the legend of the little folk and their pot of gold. So, in honor of that legend, I’m including the horror film Leprechaun among these Irish pride flicks. Sure, the film is an absolute trash fire, featuring a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston and a rhyming Warwick Davis, but it’s one of the few Leprechaun films out there that’s bearable. So bearable, in fact, that it became one of the longest-running horror franchises out there and the little bastard became one of the most beloved modern horror icons out there. Plus, it’s a friendly reminder to treat any little people you might meet on your pub crawl with a bit of respect.
Grabbers
I’ve become a bit of a horror fan over the years, which probably explains why I’ve put two horror movies on here. Grabbers though actually takes place in Ireland and tells the tale of an alien invasion that hits a small coastal town. A pair of Garda (Irish cops) and a marine ecologist discover the invasion but are helpless to stop it. The creature begins snatching up villagers and draining their blood until they realize that the beastie can’t hold it’s liquor. That’s right, alcohol kills them. So, the villagers do the only thing they can and get drunk in order to survive. I put this movie here because it turns one of the Irish stereotypes that should be offensive to a strength. Plus, it’s a pretty solid horror-comedy and seems perfect to motivate you on St. Patrick’s Day.
Far and Away
Like I said earlier, everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. That’s why I’ve decided to include Far and Away among these Irish pride films. Now, Tom Cruise does actually have a bit of Irish in him, but not enough where he has to worry about showing up on any list of acclaimed Irish actors anytime soon. Far and Away gets a shout out not just because of Cruise, but because it shows that coming to America wasn’t exactly easy. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the whole American dream stuff is a bunch of malarky. That goes double for the Irish who went through hell when they came here (yeah, not as bad as some people, but I’m not getting into a “hurt dick” measuring contest right now). So, when you’re out there getting blind drunk on St. Patrick’s day, just remember that Irish folks went through a lot back in the day.
The Departed
Despite their reputation for being happy-go-lucky drunks that are always all smiles, the Irish are actually pretty damn tough when the chips are down. So tough, that they have their own organized crime syndicate. That means that stereotypical Irish cops often had to do battle with stereotypical Irish gangsters. The best telling of this is one of the best American remakes of a foreign film, The Departed. It features an all-star cast playing characters on both sides of the law, including Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Leonardo Dicaprio. The film actually takes place in Boston, but almost all the characters in it are filled with good old Irish pride. I’m suggesting this movie for St. Patrick’s Day because it will show you that the Irish aren’t just all pints and laughter. When things need getting done, they’re all in.
Waking Ned Devine
The Irish are known for their charm, which is why I’ve decided to include at least one quaint little film here. In the quaint little village of Tulaigh Mhór, which consists of only 52 villagers, someone wins the national lottery. It’s big news until they discover that the winner, the titular Ned Devine, passed away the second he won. With no family alive to share in the winnings, the villagers think old Ned would want to share it with his closest friends. The only problem is that they have to fool the lottery inspector into believing that old Ned is still alive. The whole village comes together to make sure they all can share in the winnings. It just goes to show that the Irish might be wiley, but their hearts are usually in the right place.
The Boondock Saints
Family is a pretty big deal for the Irish, and I figured who better to demonstrate that than two of the most infamous brothers in movie history. Growing up in Boston, the McManus brothers are filled with more Irish pride than anyone else on this list. They’re also thick as thieves. So, when they discover that they have a surprising lack of conscience when it comes to killing people, they decide to do some good for the neighborhood by becoming vigilantes targeting the local crime syndicate. That right there is exactly why I’ve included The Boondock Saints on this list. A pair of Irish psychopaths decide to use their skills for the greater good. That’s certainly something to keep in mind while enjoying your “Irish car bombs” this St. Patrick Day.
Gangs of New York
Like a lot of minorities (I use the term loosely here), the Irish weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms when they came to America. In fact, you might have heard of a common phrase used back then, “Irish need not apply.” They were seen as vermin that infested ghettos and procreated their brains out. That xenophobia caused plenty of clashes in the streets and the development of gangs that lead to the creation of organized crime syndicates. Gangs of New York shows how terrible those times were for the Irish and how hard they had to fight just to be treated as humans. So, when you’re out there throwing back green beer after green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, remember that the Irish had to take a lot of beatings back in the day to get to a point where we could all enjoy the holiday.
Those movies always fill me with Irish pride every St. Patrick’s Day, but I’d love to hear which movies you love to watch this time of year. Leave a comment below to let me know what movies you love to watch around St. Patrick’s Day. Oh, and be sure that you drink responsibly even if you drink excessively this year. Please, get a ride home if you can’t drive yourself.