8 Irish TV Shows to Binge-Watch This St. Patrick's Day
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When I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day always inspired a mix of emotions in my house. On the one hand, America's take on St. Patrick's Day always struck us as kind of weird and comical (seriously, lads, where did you come up with the whole "top of the morning" thing?). But on the other hand, March 17 inspired an annual bout of homesickness for the country my parents had left — and that I'd always considered my second home. Ever reluctant to assimilate (at least within the privacy of their own home), my parents would stock up on Irish bacon and Barry's tea bags and blast the RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) morning show on our kitchen speakers.
While it helped, nothing could compare to the therapeutic value of television. Irish wit and sentimentality translate pretty well onto the small screen, and curling up on the couch watching Father Ted never failed to make us feel like we were back home again, at least for a little while. So without further ado, allow me to introduce six streamable TV series that will provide you with an authentic Irish experience this St. Patrick's Day. Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!
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Father Ted
Ah, Father Ted! This is a comedy about three priests and their tea-loving housekeeper living on a tiny island off the coast of Ireland. This show premiered in the '90s and immediately became a cult classic, and for good reason, too — its unique ability to tackle both the ordinary and the faux pas with the same cheerful bumbling innocence makes it at once charming and timeless.
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The Fall
Before Jamie Dornan became Christian Grey, he starred as Paul Spector, a Northern Irish husband and father . . . who also moonlights as a serial killer. This psychological thriller is conflicting and compelling, but one thing is for sure: you won't be able to look away.
Moone Boy
Chris O'Dowd plays the "imaginary friend of an idiot boy in the West of Ireland" (their words, not mine) in this extremely lovable family sitcom. The show is based on the comedian's own small-town childhood experiences, and paints a surprisingly detailed (and hilarious) portrait of Ireland during the early '90s. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, and I only wish there were more than three seasons of it.
Catastrophe
An Amazon original series from comedian Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe follows an Irish woman (Horgan) and an American man (Rob Delaney) as they navigate the ups and downs of a (very) unexpected pregnancy. The couple's easy chemistry is a delight to watch, and the cross-cultural humor is spot on; watching the poor American struggle to impress his Irish in-laws had me crying with laughter.
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Love/Hate
If the smoldering eyes of Robert Sheehan aren't incentive enough to watch Love/Hate, there's also the opportunity to witness Aidan Gillen (aka Little Finger on Game of Thrones) as a Dublin crime boss. The gripping drama explores the seedy underbelly and gang violence of Ireland's capital city, drawing comparisons to The Wire, and boasts widespread critical success.
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Single-Handed
This crime noir follows a Garda (aka police) officer from Dublin who has returned home to occupy his father's post in the local precinct. Single-Handed's slow-burning exploration of corruption amidst the small town's residents makes for an enthralling watch, enhanced by its cinematography. The series is shot in Connemara, where the stark beauty of the landscape is a character unto itself, much like in Sweden's The Killing. You may also recognize it as the setting of 2011's The Guard.
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The Young Offenders
This Irish coming-of-age sitcom, developed by Peter Foott, follows the adventurous lives of Cork-based teens (and sometimes criminals) Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) and Jock O'Keefe (Chris Walley). It's funny and endearing, for starters. And on top of that, despite Conor and Jock's rough-around-the-edges personalities, it's impossible not to root for them as they navigate their awkward high school years and figure out ways of distracting themselves from their difficult home lives.
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Derry Girls
This comedy follows a group of young women going through the usual, everyday challenges of being a teenager — not fitting in, falling in love for the first time, general awkwardness — only it's set amid the political conflict of Northern Ireland in the 1990s. Also, Derry Girls is available on Netflix, so you have no reason not to binge it in one sitting this weekend.