Where to Watch Some Great Irish-Themed Movie Classics on St. Patrick’s Day 2024

image from the 1992 movie — © Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

**Tom Cruise in *Far and Away* (1992)**

St. Patrick’s Day 2024 is on Sunday, March 17.

On and just ahead of that date, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and MOVIES! will offer some classic Irish-themed films to help you get into the spirit of the holiday.

Cecil Kellaway and Tyrone Power in The Luck of the Irish (1948)

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Cecil Kellaway (left) and Tyrone Power in 1948’s The Luck of the Irish

Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Luck of the Irish (1948) — MOVIES!, 11am ET
This delightful comedy stars Tyrone Power as Stephen Fitzgerald, an American reporter who, while traveling in Ireland, befriends a leprechaun named Horace (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Cecil Kellaway). Returning home to New York City, Fitzgerald discovers that Horace has reappeared in his life, acting as the reporter’s servant and conscience. He begins nudging him back toward his Irish roots, a job that doesn’t compromise his principles and is far away from his fiancée (Jayne Meadows), and toward a romance with an Irish girl named Nora (Anne Baxter).

Sunday, March 17, 2024 (St. Patrick’s Day)

Little Nellie Kelly (1940) — TCM, 6am ET
Starting bright and early on St. Patrick’s Day, TCM offers a day of movies with an Irish flair. The lineup begins with this musical comedy based on George M. Cohan’s stage musical and starring Judy Garland as the title character. Among the tunes that Garland sings here are “It’s a Great Day for the Irish,” written for the film by Roger Edens, and “A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow,” a traditional Irish ballad sung partly in Irish-Gaelic.

Odd Man Out (1947) — TCM, 8am ET
James Mason leads this BAFTA Award-winning British film noir set in Belfast. (After this title comes a little break as TCM re-airs the previous night’s Noir Alley feature like it usually does at this time on Sundays; that film is Le Samouraï). Several more Irish-themed films then follow.

The Rising of the Moon (1957) — TCM, 12pm ET
This anthology film directed by John Ford contains three stories set in Ireland: “The Majesty of the Law,” based on Frank O’Connor’s short story; “A Minute’s Wait,” based on a one-act comedy by Martin J. McHugh; and “1921,” based on the play The Rising of the Moon by Lady Gregory.

Flight of the Doves (1971) — TCM, 1:30pm ET
This British children’s movie was shot in Ireland and is based on the novel by Irish writer Walter Macken.

Young Cassidy (1965) — TCM, 3:30pm ET
Rod Taylor portrays Irish playwright Seán O’Casey in this British biographical drama. Maggie Smith, Julie Christie and Michael Redgrave also star.

image from the 1965 movie "Young Cassidy." Maggie Smith as Nora on the left, and Rod Taylor as John Cassidy, on the right, are standing in an early 20th century bookshop in Ireland, looking fondly upon one another.

Courtesy Everett Collection

Finian’s Rainbow (1968) — TCM, 5:30pm ET
One of director Francis Ford Coppola’s earliest films, this musical fantasy is an Irish-American coproduction led by Fred Astaire and Petula Clark.

Far and Away (1992) — TCM, 8pm ET
Director Ron Howard’s epic that follows Irish immigrants played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as they seek their fortune in 1890s America makes its TCM premiere tonight. The drama also boasts a fantastic musical score by John Williams with a lot of Irish flavor.

The Quiet Man (1952) — TCM, 10:30pm ET
TCM’s St. Patrick’s Day lineup of classics concludes with Best Director Oscar winner John Ford’s beloved, Best Picture-nominated romantic comedy/drama led by John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald and Best Supporting Actor nominee Victor McLaglen.

black-and-white image from the 1952 movie "The Quiet Man." It depicts stars Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne riding in a horse-drawn wagon across a pond in the Irish countryside.

Courtesy Everett Collection