Books, Movies, Music: A cultural selection for St. Patrick’s Day

We’ve put together a selection of Irish films, music and books that will get you in the mood to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.

The best Irish movies to watch on St. Patrick’s Day

You’re sure to be wowed by one of Ireland’s most beloved films, The Quiet Man, in which the spectacular Connemara landscape plays a starring role alongside John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Likewise, the famous Darby O’Gill and the Spritesa fantastic film from Walt Disney Studios, will immerse you in Irish folklore with all the magic of leprechauns.

If you are more romantic, go for the movies PS I Love You Where brooklynboth award-winning, set against the backdrop of the Ancient East of Ireland.

Musical buffs will have their pick of the Oscar-winning musical Ouncethe eccentric Sing Street and, of course, the vibrant and unmissable The Commitmentsat Dublin.

To immerse yourself in the history of Ireland, do not miss The Wind That Shakes the Barley – winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival – and Belfastthe brand new film by Kenneth Branagh, released in French theaters on March 2.

Finally, for an outright escape, travel to a galaxy far, far away, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jediin which you will find the west of Ireland, including the spectacular site of Skellig Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Find our selection of the 11 best Irish films.

Turn up the volume, here you are in Ireland!

One of the best ways to get into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day is to put together an all-Irish playlist. Classics and essentials “Whiskey in the Jar”, “The Wild Rover” and “Fields of Athens”, passing through the more modern hits of the groups Westlife, Picture This or even Snow Patrol, there are a multitude of Irish hits, it’s up to you to choose according to your preferences!

Don’t miss big names in traditional Irish music such as The Dubliners and the Pogues, folk artist Christy Moore and new-age masters Clannad.

Add to that the hits of U2, Thin Lizzy, Celtic rock from Horslips and a touch of indie pop from The Cranberries. And save a spot for singer-songwriters Cian Ducrot and Ocean Tisdall, who were recently categorized by Universal Music as “To watch in 2022“.

On March 17, the Green Button Festivala one-of-a-kind digital event, will allow audiences around the world to view stunning performances recorded by the cream of Irish talent in scenic locations around the island.

Discover artists such as Hothouse Flowers at Temple Bar Dublin, Ailbhe Reddy at Dublin Castle, The Pale in Derry~Londonderry and Clannad & Denise Chaila in County Donegal.

Also screened will be performances by Riverdance, Ryan McMullan, A. Smyth, Gemma Bradley, Kíla, Damien Dempsey & Eamonn De Barra as well as Paddy Casey & Kim Hayden.

The festival will be online at www.irlande-tourisme.fr.

An Irish literary selection to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day

With four Nobel Prize winners among a myriad of renowned writers, Ireland offers unrivaled literary choice.

(Re)Discover the literary phenomenon Ulysses by James Joyce, which this year celebrates the centenary of its publication. On this occasion, Dublin and Paris (city where the novel was published for the first time), organize a year of celebration of the work, and the BloomsdayFestival (June 16) – named after the book’s main character, Leopold Bloom – promises to be one of the highlights of the year.

Other classics of Irish literature that will delight bookworms include Gulliver’s Travelsthe famous satire of Jonathan Swift, and Dracula by Bram Stoker, who inspired a thousand horror movies. Also, the only novel published by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grayis another gothic horror story that has taken its place in the collective consciousness.

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien is considered one of the 100 best books in the English language, while the trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable by Nobel Prize-winning Samuel Beckett has been called the most important literary work of the 20th century.

The novel, The Country Girls, is an excellent introduction to the work of the famous author Edna O’Brien. Other highly regarded contemporary female authors include Sally Rooney (Normal People) and Booker Prize winner Anna Burns (Milkman) and Anne Enright (The Gathering).