Looking for the Best Irish Movies on Netflix that actually deliver on story, atmosphere, and heart? You’re in the right place. We checked what’s currently on the platform and confirmed 12 titles that meet the quality bar with IMDb ratings of 6.0 or higher. This curated mix spans tender coming-of-age tales, rousing historical dramas, and cheeky genre twists that travel well beyond Ireland’s shores. You’ll find films that sing with music and memory, thrillers that prowl through wind-lashed coasts, and comedies that understand the art of a sly grin. It’s a lineup that rewards weekend browsing and midweek mood swings alike. If you’re into top Netflix Irish films, this guide is built to be clear, current, and useful. Below you’ll discover cast highlights, runtimes, and quick genre tags so picking tonight’s movie is easy. And yes—each entry nods to how these stories land today, because streaming Irish films should feel fresh, not dusty.
Across these 12 picks, you’ll spot modern classics alongside Netflix originals, all ready to queue up now. Music lovers can drift into school-band euphoria, while drama fans can chase moral knots that tighten in small towns and big cities. Thriller hounds get a dash of neo-western steel from Donegal and a creature feature that practically requires a pint. If you’ve been hunting for top Irish movies on Netflix, consider this your jump-off point. We’ve woven in notes for family-friendly options and for nights when you want something grittier. The balance tilts toward character and place, because that’s where Irish cinema shines. Think lyrical dialogue, stubborn humor, and a sense that history presses on the present. By the end, you’ll have a watchlist that travels across eras and counties without leaving your couch. Settle in: these films make the case for why streaming Irish films remains a small, sturdy joy.
Your guide to the Best Irish Movies on Netflix (12 verified picks)
1) The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
- Runtime: 1h 48m
- Starring: Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Jason O’Mara, Michael McElhatton
- Director: Richie Smyth
- Genre tags: war, historical drama, action, biographical
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
An Irish UN company deployed to Congo finds itself outgunned and outnumbered as diplomacy stalls and shells start to fall. The film locks into a tense rhythm, tracking field decisions, fragile supply lines, and the morale of soldiers waiting for help that won’t arrive. Dornan plays Commandant Pat Quinlan with a cool, procedural focus that anchors the chaos. Skirmishes are crisp and readable, but the real charge is in the politics grinding behind the firefights. The movie also reclaims a chapter of Irish military history that long lived in the footnotes. You can feel the dust, the heat, and the slow creep of inevitability. Production design and sound sell the siege without overinflating the spectacle. For viewers searching the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this stands tall as a smart, unsentimental war story with pride and bite.
2) The Wonder (2022)
- Runtime: 1h 43m
- Starring: Florence Pugh, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Niamh Algar, Ciarán Hinds
- Director: Sebastián Lelio
- Genre tags: period drama, psychological, mystery
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
In post-Famine Ireland, an English nurse observes a fasting girl whose village believes she survives on faith alone. The story unwraps like a candlelit puzzle, playing doubt against devotion as the nurse records each breath and rumor. Pugh’s performance turns skepticism into empathy without surrendering to easy miracles. Lelio’s framing makes peat-brown rooms feel stage-true yet cinematic, daring you to lean closer. The film’s narration and meta prologue ask what stories we agree to believe. Tension thickens with each visit by committee men who want an answer they can use. Even the wind outside seems to carry its own testimony. If your queue focuses on the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this is a hushed, heady watch with modern concerns under its period bonnet.
3) In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023)
- Runtime: 1h 46m
- Starring: Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Colm Meaney
- Director: Robert Lorenz
- Genre tags: neo-western, thriller, crime, drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Set in 1970s Donegal, a tired hitman tries to retire just as violent visitors bring old skills roaring back. The coastal vistas play like widescreen conscience, judging every choice with grey light and salt air. Neeson leans into weariness rather than invincibility, which suits the film’s patient tempo. Condon’s flinty presence sharpens each standoff and keeps the danger human. The plot threads IRA tensions with personal debts that won’t stay buried. Expect a steady burn instead of a body-count sprint, with a finale that earns its thunder. Release windows shift, but this one remains a sturdy draw among Netflix Irish films. For anyone mapping the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, it’s a mature, windswept entry with classic bones.
4) Sing Street (2016)
- Runtime: 1h 46m
- Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Aidan Gillen
- Director: John Carney
- Genre tags: coming-of-age, music, romance, comedy-drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
A Dublin teen forms a band to impress a mysterious girl, and somehow the songs start sounding like freedom. Carney shoots creative courage like a superpower, as DIY videos, hand-me-down suits, and big hooks turn school corridors into runways. The soundtrack doesn’t just decorate scenes—it pushes the plot and characters forward. Family pressures and emigration dreams thread through the melodies, giving each chorus bittersweet teeth. Fashion phases become chapters in a young artist’s manifesto. Comic beats keep the mood buoyant without deflating stakes. It’s a love letter to starting something before you’re “ready.” For playlists aimed at the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this one practically twirls the dial to joy.
5) Handsome Devil (2016)
- Runtime: 1h 35m
- Starring: Fionn O’Shea, Nicholas Galitzine, Andrew Scott, Moe Dunford
- Director: John Butler
- Genre tags: school drama, LGBTQ+, sports, comedy-drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Roommates at a rugby-mad boarding school hide in separate shells until music cracks them open. Butler blends jock culture with outsider wit, letting friendship redraw the field lines. Andrew Scott’s English teacher isn’t a trope but a catalyst who refuses easy cynicism. The film respects the risk of being seen, especially where reputation polices every hallway. Performance scenes hum with the headrush of finding your people. Rivalries soften into compassion without going gooey. It’s polished, funny, and quietly brave about identity. If you’re curating top Irish movies on Netflix, consider this a small treasure with a sing-along soul.
6) The Young Offenders (2016)
- Runtime: 1h 25m
- Starring: Alex Murphy, Chris Walley, Hilary Rose, P. J. Gallagher
- Director: Peter Foott
- Genre tags: comedy, road movie, crime, buddy
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Two Cork teens pedal after a missing bale of cocaine and somehow chase down their better selves. The film’s bike-seat perspective lets gags fly without losing the thump of real stakes. A gloriously petty Garda turns pursuit into slapstick chess. Jokes land because they’re rooted in friendship and small-time bravado rather than cruelty. Cork itself becomes a character—chatty, stubborn, and sun-splashed when it wants to be. Foott’s pacing keeps mishaps crisp and surprisingly tender. By the finish, you’ll remember every daft detour with fondness. For fans of streaming Irish films, this is a brisk, big-hearted spin.
Halfway pick-me-up: more of the Best Irish Movies on Netflix
7) Brooklyn (2015)
- Runtime: 1h 52m
- Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters
- Director: John Crowley
- Genre tags: period drama, romance, immigration
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
An Irish shopgirl crosses the Atlantic and discovers a second life blooming in a new city. Ronan plays Eilis with a quiet ache that sharpens into resolve. Letters home carry the tug of two places claiming the same heart. Crowley’s soft light and winter streets give nostalgia a clean edge. The love triangle is tender rather than cruel, honoring the bravery of choosing. Food, dance, and church socials sketch a migrant map of belonging. It’s the rare romance that trusts silence as much as vows. If you’re sifting Netflix Irish films for “instant classic,” this is the one you recommend to everyone.
8) Cardboard Gangsters (2017)
- Runtime: 1h 32m
- Starring: John Connors, Fionn Walton, Kierston Wareing, Ryan Lincoln
- Director: Mark O’Connor
- Genre tags: crime, urban drama, thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Darndale lads try to climb the drug ladder and discover it’s greased with grief. O’Connor shoots with street-level urgency, keeping the frame close to busted noses and bad choices. John Connors gives Jay a bruised charisma that never glamorizes what’s on offer. The city feels alive with grudges and rumors that travel faster than sirens. Scenes pivot from swagger to panic as territory lines blur. Violence lands with sickening finality rather than fireworks. The ending keeps faith with the world it sketches. For lists of the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this is your gritty counterweight to the sweeter fare.
9) Calvary (2014)
- Runtime: 1h 41m
- Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen
- Director: John Michael McDonagh
- Genre tags: black comedy, drama, faith, small-town
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
A good priest receives a death threat in confession and spends a week walking toward it. Gleeson’s Father James meets each villager with compassion that never dims into naivety. The west-of-Ireland coastline looks carved by old grievances and older jokes. McDonagh folds humor into sorrow so the punchlines sting and heal at once. The film asks how you live honestly when institutions have failed. Every pub talk feels like a trial with no judge and too many jurors. It’s somber but strangely affirming about forgiveness. Among top Irish movies on Netflix, this is the one that lingers in your ribs.
10) Grabbers (2012)
- Runtime: 1h 34m
- Starring: Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley, Russell Tovey, Bronagh Gallagher
- Director: Jon Wright
- Genre tags: horror-comedy, creature feature, sci-fi
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Tentacled aliens hit a remote Irish island, and the safest plan is hilariously simple: stay drunk. Wright plays the premise straight enough to make the laughs bigger and the scares stickier. Pub banter becomes strategy as locals turn craic into crisis management. Practical effects and storm-lit textures keep things tactile. The romance thread lands with a wink, not a wince. You’ll root for the town the way you root for your favorite snug. It’s brisk, daft, and extremely rewatchable. If your mood says “fun first,” file this under streaming Irish films that never overstay their welcome.
11) Michael Inside (2017)
- Runtime: 1h 36m
- Starring: Dafhyd Flynn, Lalor Roddy, Moe Dunford, Shane Thornton
- Director: Frank Berry
- Genre tags: prison drama, social realism, coming-of-age
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
An 18-year-old is sent to prison after a small, stupid favor turns costly, and the system rearranges his future. Berry shoots with documentary calm, letting fluorescent light and institutional noise do half the talking. Flynn’s performance is all nerves and swallowed pride. Family loyalty and neighborhood pressure tug from opposite sides. Violence is sudden, not stylized, and mentorship arrives with strings attached. The film asks whether a short sentence can echo for years. Its restraint makes each choice feel fated and human. For the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this is essential social drama with a steady pulse.
12) Philomena (2013)
- Runtime: 1h 38m
- Starring: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Michelle Fairley
- Director: Stephen Frears
- Genre tags: true story, road movie, drama, investigative
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
A retired journalist helps an Irish woman search for the son taken from her decades earlier. Dench threads warmth through grief with a wit that refuses bitterness. Coogan’s wary empathy becomes the film’s balancing act. Along the way, American highways and Irish corridors mirror different kinds of obedience. The script keeps faith with complexity instead of verdicts. Small reveals land like thunder because they’re personal. It’s tender, funny, and quietly furious. If you’re rounding out a night of the Best Irish Movies on Netflix, this is the one you recommend to your parents and your pals.
About Irish Movies and Netflix
Irish cinema grew from lean budgets and rich talk, building character-first stories that travel on humor, music, and moral weather. The industry’s modern backbone—Screen Ireland, a nimble indie ecosystem, and co-productions with the UK, Europe, and North America—has kept cameras rolling even in tight years. That resilience births films that feel handcrafted: actors who look like neighbors, landscapes that work as memory, and dialogue that plays like a well-worn tune. It’s why Netflix Irish films can land across regions without translation—human scale beats spectacle when the writing’s true.
On Netflix, these films thrive because the platform rewards discovery and word-of-mouth. You watch a school-band romance and get served a rural faith drama that cuts just as deep. Curation matters: top Irish movies on Netflix work as gateways to smaller titles and new voices, while streaming Irish films lets audiences revisit festival favorites that once vanished after brief theatrical runs. The mix of originals and licensed gems means there’s usually a path from “never heard of it” to “new favorite” in a night.
Conclusion
That’s 12 verified picks—each with an IMDb rating of 6.0 or better—so your queue has range, rhythm, and repeat value. If you want a quick critical primer on recent Irish high points, Sight & Sound’s features often spotlight the craft and context behind these films. And when you’re craving deeper dives into the nation’s screen heritage, the Irish Film Institute offers a rich archive and programming that pair beautifully with a Netflix night.
From windswept priests to neon school dances, this list shows how varied one island’s stories can be. Keep an eye on availability—licenses rotate—but the heartbeat of this lineup doesn’t fade. Whether you’re browsing Netflix Irish films for comfort or curiosity, you’ve got options that feel lived-in, not algorithmic. Now it’s your move: pick a county, pick a tone, and let the credits roll.
FAQ: Best Irish Movies on Netflix
How many Irish movies are included here?
Which film is best for music lovers?
Are there historical or war stories included?
Is there a family-friendly choice here?
Do these include Netflix Originals?
