Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan are just two of the directors responsible for the popularity of Irish film. Many of today's hottest stars are also emerging from Ireland, from heartthrobs Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy to the fresh young talent of Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan.
Based on Roddy Doyle's buoyant debut novel, Alan Parker's exuberant The Committments follows a cobbled-together band whose vision is to bring soul music to Dublin.
In Neil Jordan's psychological thriller, a reluctant agent of the Irish Republican Army discovers that some people just aren't who you expect them to be. Fergus (Stephen Rea) is an IRA "volunteer" who, despite personal misgivings, takes part in the kidnapping of a black British soldier, Jody (Forest Whitaker), stationed in Northern Ireland. After befriending the soldier, Fergus promises to look after his girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson).
The Magdalene Sisters is a bold, shocking and powerful film. Through the fictional stories of three Irish girls, Peter Mullins (Orphans) recreates a shameful period in history that has been hushed up for decades.
Based on Gerry Conlon's autobiography, Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father tells the tumultuous and wrenching tale of a man wrongfully imprisoned in 1974 for the bombing of a London pub. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Conlon, a young Irish petty thief who gets falsely accused. If you like this, also check out another fantastic collaboration between Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis: The Boxer.
John Carney's lo-fi musical about a Dublin busker and an immigrant single mother who meet in the streets and record a demo tape together is a real charmer. The film received standing ovations and the Audience Award at Sundance, and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes The Barley, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, is a searing story of two brothers whose loyalties are put to the ultimate test in the fight for Irish independence. The always wonderful Cillian Murphy stars.
Set in a small town in Ireland, John Crowley's ensemble drama is a rich, nuanced film - crowded with lovely moments and complicated stories. Rising stars Colin Farrell, Shirley Henderson, Kelly MacDonald, and Cillian Murphy lead the terrific cast.
Based on the second of Irish writer Roddy Doyle's Barrytown trilogy, The Snapper is a warmly comic look at a close-knit Irish family faced with a pregnant, unmarried daughter.
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