Best Irish documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Ireland.
Captain Jack and the Furious Few (2018)
Captain Jack and the Furious Few (2018)
The remarkable story of a pioneering aviator from Ulster during World War I.
A Terrible Beauty (2013)
A Terrible Beauty (2013)
A Terrible Beauty is the story of the men and women of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, Irish and British, caught up in a conflict many did not understand and of the innocent men and boys, executed because of what transpired in The Battle of Mount Street Bridge. The British soldiers were the last of the Great War volunteers, who joined up together to fight the Germans. They knew that there was a strong chance they would die in France, but to die in Dublin would never have crossed their minds. The Irish Volunteers were weekend warriors many of whom had no idea they were about to take part in large scale battles on the streets of Dublin.
His & Hers (2009)
His & Hers (2009)
A documentary which chronicles a ninety-year-old love story, through the collective voice of seventy ladies.
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann (2013)
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann (2013)
In the summer of 2009, a man calling himself Peter Bergmann and claiming to be from Austria arrived in Sligo Town. Over his final three days, Peter Bergmann would go to great lengths to ensure no one would ever discover who he was or where he came from.
Lord of the Dance (1997)
Lord of the Dance (1997)
Filmed at the Point Theatre in Dublin 'Lord of the Dance' takes Irish dancing to spectacular new heights. Orchestrated and conducted by Anne Dudley, inspiring original music by Ronan Hardiman and exhilarating dance starring the sensational Michael Flatley with supporting characters Bernadette Flynn, Daire Nolan, Gillian Norris, Helen Egan and Anne Buckley - Lord of the Dance is a rare and magical experience. Michael Flatley takes to the stage in a stunning Celtic dance spectacular which re-tells Irish folk legend in a dazzling and updated style. Join us when time stood still and Erin was goddess of all... The stories had all been written and everyone knew their parts. But the ancient clans, sitting in their stone circles, heard mumblings and the spirits dream was troubled. A new dark power had emerged to challenge the Lord of the Dance.
Nothing Compares (2022)
Nothing Compares (2022)
Since the beginning of her career, Sinéad O’Connor has used her powerful voice to challenge the narratives she was surrounded by while growing up in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland. Despite her agency, depth and perspective, O’Connor’s unflinching refusal to conform means that she has often been patronized and unfairly dismissed as an attention-seeking pop star.
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before. In "The Future Is Unwritten", from British film director Julien Temple, Joe Strummer is revealed not just as a legend or musician, but as a true communicator of our times. Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship which developed over the last years of Joe's life, Julien Temple's film is a celebration of Joe Strummer - before, during and after the Clash.
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017)
A Dog Called Money (2019)
Amy Winehouse: At the BBC - Arena: The Day She Came to Dingle (2012)
Amy Winehouse: At the BBC - Arena: The Day She Came to Dingle (2012)
Back in 2006 on a stormy December night, Amy Winehouse flew to the remote, south western corner of Ireland to perform for Other Voices, an acclaimed Irish TV music series filmed in Dingle every winter. Amy took to the stage of Saint James's church, capacity 85, and wowed the small, packed crowd with a searing, acoustic set of songs from Back to Black. After leaving the stage, a relaxed and happy Amy spoke about her music and influences - Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles and the Shangri-Las to name a few. Arena joined forces with Other Voices and went to Dingle to catch up with some of the people that Amy met on that day, including taxi driver Paddy Kennedy, her bass player Dale Davis and Rev Mairt Hanley of the Other Voices church. This film showcases not only Amy herself, but the musical geniuses that inspired her to forge her own jazz pop style.
Art Will Save the World (2012)
Art Will Save the World (2012)
Failed pop star. The soul of The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder reconstructs the purgatory of his career in a hilarious testimony that craps on every aspect of the pop music business. Those on the prowl for public relations and commercial potential have come to the wrong place. Haines is a notorious party-pooper, a wet blanket at awards ceremonies, and a sourpuss-that-sulks-in-the-corner. To relate his tragic-comic saga, director Niall McCann organizes a perfidious puzzle filled with talking heads: Jarvis Cocker, Stewart Home, David Peace… (or, as Haines puts it: “people who pretend they have met me”), unforgettable quips by the disgusted composer (“To hell with the common people”, “Britpop never existed”), and a script that resembles Winterbottom gone punk: actors that aspire to walk in Haines’ shoes, frozen images, surprising turns, and historical tiffs.
Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar (2022)
Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar (2022)
Niall Horan left his hometown of Mullingar at 16 to join one of the biggest boybands of all time. Now, 12 years later, Niall is coming home - and he's bringing his best friend Lewis Capaldi along for the ride. In this exclusive film, the two global superstars embark on an epic Irish road trip before they wrap up their travels with a once in a lifetime gig in Mullingar. Expect standout performances, laugh out loud moments and a whole lot of Irish charm. It's time to see two of the biggest singer songwriters on the planet like you've never seen them before.
Breaking Out (2021)
Breaking Out (2021)
Filmed over 10 years and covering a lifetime, Breaking Out is the story of singer and musician Fergus O’Farrell, an artist whose unique talent inspired a generation of songwriters and touched thousands of lives, even as his own was slipping away.
El Gusto (2012)
El Gusto (2012)
El Gusto is the story of an orchestra of Jewish and Muslim musicians torn apart by war 50 years ago, and recently reunited for an exceptional concert. These musicians share a passion they never lost: the soul of Algiers, Chaabi music.
The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott (1996)
The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott (1996)
When Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott died on 4 January 1986, he was 36 years old. His early death from a drug-related illness placed him in the same rock 'n' roll league as his idols Elvis and Jimi Hendrix. This documentary looks behind the image to reveal the strains of life in the fast lane. It also focuses on Lynott as family man, writer, and black Irishman with a Brazilian father. Includes contributions from Bono, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Scott Gorham, and Lynott's wife Caroline Crowther, who speaks publicly for the first time. (Radio Times)
North Circular (2022)
North Circular (2022)
Atmospherically shot in black and white North Circular Road travels the length of the eponymous road exploring the history, music and streetscapes of this legendary artery that links some of Dublin's most beloved and infamous places. From the Phoenix Park to Dublin Port, this documentary evokes many narratives from the history of the nation to the urgent issues of today including the battle to save the legendary Cobblestone Pub.
Riverdance: The New Show (1996)
Riverdance: The New Show (1996)
Riverdance Show is a cultural phenomenon that defies criticism for the enthusiastic and leaves everyone else scratching their heads. The wonderfully talented cast, headed by the Riverdance Irish Dance Company, bewitchingly spins (and stomps) its Celtic folk choreography featuring numerous breathless solos by Michael Flatley (since departed) and Jean Butler. The mellifluous Riverdance Orchestra boasts Davy Spillane, who coaxes plaintive lamentations out of a peculiar instrument that resembles a bagpipe in a metal leg brace. For Enya fans, there is the sound-alike choral group Anuna, who casts a similarly New Age-style vocal spell. Also thrown into the mix are such disparate folk traditions as American gospel and Spanish flamenco. Though it's only 70 minutes long, Riverdance is repetitive by half. But judging from the ecstatic audience ovations and the continued foot-stomping during and after the curtain calls, too much is still not enough.
Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour ’74 (1974)
Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour ’74 (1974)
Irish Tour '74 is a film which captures the artist, his music, the period and the place with perfection. Filmed in January 1974 at Belfast Ulster Hall, Dublin Carlton Cinema and Cork City Hall.
Boyzone: Something Else (1997)
Boyzone: Something Else (1997)
Follow the tuneful Irish lads as they go about preparing for their tour, making promo videos and recording new singles.
Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party (2019)
Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party (2019)
Ardal O'Hanlon looks at what started the showband era in Ireland, the people involved, and how it came to an end in the 1980s.
From a Whisper to a Scream: The Living History of Irish Music (2000)
From a Whisper to a Scream: The Living History of Irish Music (2000)
Story of Irish popular music from 1950 to the present day told by the artists, songwriters, producers and executives who made it all happen. It tells of the dramatic evolution from a grey, conservative culture to a vibrant, colourful music scene which has an enormous popularity and influence completely out of proportion to the size of the country.
Shooting the Mafia (2019)
Shooting the Mafia (2019)
Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia began a long battle against the ruthless Cosa Nostra when she first photographed the sinister scene of a brutal murder. Documenting the barbaric rule of the Italian Mafia, she was an unwavering witness to its crimes. Her art and courage helped end the horrific and bloody reign of the Corleonesi clan.
Men at Lunch (2013)
Men at Lunch (2013)
This remarkable new documentary explores the story behind one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century: the 1932 photograph of workmen taking their lunch while perched on a girder high above New York City.
The Cable That Changed the World (2024)
The Cable That Changed the World (2024)
The first transatlantic communications cable, traversing the ocean floor from Valentia Island, County Kerry, to Newfoundland, Canada, 165 years ago was an 8 year endeavor that helped lay the foundation of the modern technology industry and explains the fragility of undersea cables today.
Storm Front in Mayo (2019)
Storm Front in Mayo (2019)
Ireland, June 1944. The crucial decision about the right time to start Operation Overlord on D-Day comes to depend on the readings taken by Maureen Flavin, a young girl who works at a post office, used as a weather station, in Blacksod, in County Mayo, the westernmost promontory of Europe, far from the many lands devastated by the iron storms of World War II.
World's First Battlefield (2023)
World's First Battlefield (2023)
A team of experts unravels the secrets concealed within this historical battleground, shedding light on a narrative that predates any battlefield discovery made to date. The revelations unearthed in this episode are set to reshape our understanding of ancient conflicts and the evolution of warfare.
Ardal O'Hanlon: Tomb Raider (2022)
Citizen Lane (2018)
Citizen Lane (2018)
Citizen Lane is an innovative mix of documentary and drama that delivers a vivid and compelling portrait of Hugh Lane, one of the most fascinating and yet enigmatic figures in modern Irish history. A man of multiple contradictions, by turns infuriatingly parsimonious or extraordinarily generous, a professed nationalist and a knight of the realm; a monumental snob and a fearless campaigner for access to the arts.
The Irish Revolution (2019)
The Irish Revolution (2019)
The extraordinary story of the Irish War of Independence (1919-22): from the failed insurrection of 1916, the detailed account of how pro-independence Ireland rebuilt a movement whose efforts would eventually lead to the creation of a new nation. (Documentary film based on the miniseries of the same title.)
Steps of Freedom: The Story of Irish Dance (2022)
Steps of Freedom: The Story of Irish Dance (2022)
This wonderfully entertaining dance documentary tells the extraordinary story of how Irish dance developed over centuries from a traditional peasant dance to a form that has taken the world by storm and is enjoyed by tens of millions. The film shows how Irish dance has both been influenced by and influenced the dance of many cultures and how it developed as an expression of resistance.