Irish Movies

By Michelle Miles

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (and the fact that I am part Irish!), I thought it only fitting that I talk about movies set in Ireland this month. I came up with this idea when I bought a copy of John Wayne’s The Quiet Man and watched most of it before I got interrupted.

Of course, we all know the famous scene as pictured here when Sean Thornton comes home to find a fire stoked and the floor swept. Mary Kate just couldn’t resist. And would you be able to resist a tall, strapping John Wayne?

Anyway, the other movie I thought of was Darby O’Gill and the Little People which stars a very young, very handsome singing Sean Connery. Can I get a WOOT-WOOT? Sadly, the only thing I remember about this movie, other than Sean Connery was in it, was the line, “Darby O’Gill…get in.”

And…that was the end of my Movies Set In Ireland List. Which isn’t much of a list, really.

As I sat here writing this post, I popped onto Google, as I so often do, and did a search. Wikipedia was the first thing that came up on the list and lo and behold there was a big ole long list of Movies Set In Ireland. Who knew!

And then of course I remembered that parts of P.S. I Love You were set in Ireland (starring the yummy Gerard Butler). And The Princess Bride, according to the page, had parts of it set in Ireland, though in that movie we know it to be Florin, don’t we? What about the R.O.U.S.s? Are they in Ireland, too? ;)

Other movies you may know:

Michael Collins
The Crying Game
Tristan and Isolde

And movies shot in Ireland? Well, there’s a list for that, too. Those include:

Braveheart (1995) – according to this, even though it was set in Scotland, it was almost entirely filmed in Ireland.

Excalibur (1981) – the great story of King Arthur starring Nigel Terry (I thought he was hot).

King Arthur (2004) – the clunky retelling of the tale starring Clive Owen. If only the story had been tightened up a bit and the movie hadn’t dragged, this would have been a real gem.

Reign of Fire (2002) – starring Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale with a bit of the yummy Gerard Butler again.

What are some of your favorite movies filmed or set in a great locale? Does it include the lush green hillsides of Ireland? Or some other gorgeous place? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Michelle Miles writes sexy contemporaries and is a member of Romance Writers of America. You can learn more about her books at http://www.michellemiles.net.