The Luck of the Irish: 15 Shows Set in Ireland to Stream This St. Patrick’s Day
There are two things you must do on St. Patrick’s Day: wear green and watch an Irish TV show. (OK, maybe have a pint as well.)
A handful of Irish TV shows have hit mainstream success among American audiences in recent years. One of the biggest hits is Hulu‘s Normal People, which catapulted Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones to stardom and made Sally Rooney novels prime for onscreen adaptations. Rooney’s Conversations With Friends came next, once again giving a glimpse into the lives of Irish 20-somethings.
Derry Girls is one of the most beloved comedies of recent years. If you haven’t watched it yet, be sure to catch at least a few episodes on Netflix before Bridgerton returns for Season 3, as star Nicola Coughlan will be flexing some comedic muscles in the next season of the romantic and sexy Shonda Rhimes series. Derry Girls is where she will really get you laughing, as will her endlessly entertaining co-stars Saoirse Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, and more.
Netflix is also providing a streaming-exclusive rom-com this St. Patrick’s Day. Irish Wish debuted on the streaming service on Friday, March 15, starring Lindsay Lohan, Ed Speleers, and Alexander Vlahos. Yes, it’s a movie, but we’re counting it as an Irish story worth streaming!
If you’re keen to watch an Irish series this weekend, we’ve compiled a list of shows based in Ireland for you in the gallery below (some recent, some classics), with details on where to stream them.
1. The Tourist
A man (Jamie Dornan) wakes up in the Australian Outback with no recollection of who he is, and he must try to piece together his memory as merciless figures from his past pursue him. In Season 2, he arrives back in his presumed home turf, Ireland.
Streaming on Netflix
2. The Woman in the Wall
When Lorna (Ruth Wilson) finds a corpse in her home, she has no idea who the dead woman is or if she’s responsible for the apparent murder.
Streaming on Paramount+ With Showtime
3. Irish Wish
Maddie (Lindsay Lohan) makes a wish for true love and wakes up as the bride-to-be at her friend’s (Alexander Vlahos) wedding.
Streaming on Netflix
4. Normal People
Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) come from different backgrounds but weave in and out of each other’s lives.
Streaming on Hulu
5. Bad Sisters
The Garvey sisters (Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson) are bound together by the premature deaths of their parents and the promises they made to always protect one another.
Streaming on Apple TV+
6. Derry Girls
This comedy series follows a group of friends as they navigate their teens in the early 1990s.
Streaming on Netflix
7. Father Ted
A trio of exiled priests (Dermot Morgan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Frank Kelly) live and serve together in a parish on Craggy Island.
Streaming on Prime Video, The Roku Channel, PLEX, Crackle
8. Conversations With Friends
Conversations With Friends follows two college students (Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane) and the strange and unexpected connection they forge with a married couple (Joe Alwyn, Jemima Kirke).
Streaming on Hulu
9. The Fall
A Detective Superintendent from England (Gillian Anderson) investigates a politically sensitive murder in Belfast. Jamie Dornan also stars.
Streaming on Acorn TV, Tubi, AMC+, Plex, Prime Video
10. Poldark
Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) returns from the battlefield to find his father dead and his estate in ruins. Eleanor Tomlinson also stars.
Streaming on PBS, Prime Video
11. Harry Wild
A recently retired English professor (Jane Seymour) discovers a real knack for investigation and cannot help but interfere with the cases assigned to her police detective son (Kevin Ryan).
12. Dublin Murders
Detectives (Sarah Greene, Killian Scott) try to solve the case of a girl who is found murdered in the woods outside of Dublin.
Streaming on Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Starz
13. Moone Boy
Martin Moone (David Rawle), 12, and his imaginary friend, Sean (Chris O’Dowd), grow up in late 1980s Ireland.
Streaming on Peacock, Freevee, BritBox, Hoopla
14. Ballykissangel
Catholic priest Father Peter Clifford (Stephen Tompkinson) is sent from Manchester, England to the rural Irish town of Ballykissangel, where he quickly finds himself at odds with his superior, Father MacAnally (Niall Toibin) and local bar owner Assumpta Fitzgerald (Dervla Kirwan). A young Colin Farrell also stars.
Streaming on Pluto TV, Britbox, The Roku Channel
15. Kin
Kin tells the story of a fictional Dublin family embroiled in gangland war and speaks to the enduring unbreakable bonds of blood and family. Charlie Cox, Hannah Adeogun, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Clare Dunne, Aidan Gillen, and Ciarán Hinds star.
Streaming on AMC+
