50 Fun Facts About Irish Movie

Who directed The Quiet Man, winning a record fourth Best Director Oscar?

Winton Hoch's colour photography of Mayo and Galway also won an Oscar.

Who stars opposite John Wayne in The Quiet Man?

All the exteriors were shot on location in Counties Mayo and Galway.

In My Left Foot, what condition does Christy Brown have?

Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker both won Oscars for the 1989 film.

My Left Foot was the directorial debut of which Irish filmmaker?

He followed it with The Field and In the Name of the Father, earning six Oscar nominations in all.

Which Dublin writer's novel was The Commitments adapted from?

Alan Parker directed; the film won four BAFTAs including Best Film.

What kind of music does Jimmy Rabbitte's band play in The Commitments?

Jimmy assembles working-class Northsiders to bring soul to Dublin.

Which future Oscar winner played guitarist Outspan Foster in The Commitments?

The Frames frontman went on to win Best Original Song for Once.

Which soul legend does the band keep waiting for in The Commitments?

Joey "The Lips" promises his friend Pickett will sing with them.

Which song from Once won the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Marketa Irglova became the youngest winner of a non-acting Oscar.

Where does the Guy busk at the start of Once?

John Carney made the film for about 112,000 euros.

What household appliance does the Girl ask the Guy to fix in Once?

He repairs hoovers in his father's shop.

Roughly how much did Once cost to make?

It spent years in development with the Irish Film Board and later became a Tony-winning stage musical.

In In Bruges, who does rookie hitman Ray accidentally kill on his first job?

He shoots a priest during confession and a stray bullet kills a boy, which drives the whole plot.

In what year is The Banshees of Inisherin set?

The Irish Civil War is heard ending on the mainland while Colm and Padraic feud.

What does Colm threaten to do each time Padraic speaks to him in Banshees?

He follows through, starting with his left index finger thrown at Padraic's door.

What is the name of Padraic's beloved miniature donkey in Banshees?

She chokes to death on one of Colm's severed fingers.

On which real islands was The Banshees of Inisherin filmed?

Colm's house is at Keem Bay on Achill; JJ Devine's pub was built at Cloughmore.

Which prize did Colin Farrell win at Venice for Banshees?

McDonagh took Best Screenplay at the same festival.

Which Wexford town does Eilis leave behind in Brooklyn?

Nick Hornby adapted Colm Toibin's novel; the film won the BAFTA for Best British Film.

Who wrote the screenplay for Brooklyn?

John Crowley directed; Ronan was Oscar-nominated for Best Actress.

Who plays the captured British soldier Jody in The Crying Game?

Stephen Rea's IRA man Fergus befriends him and promises to find his girlfriend Dil.

Who plays the title role in Neil Jordan's Michael Collins?

The film won the Golden Lion at Venice and Neeson the Volpi Cup.

Which Hollywood star plays Kitty Kiernan in Michael Collins?

Alan Rickman plays Eamon de Valera.

Which Ken Loach film about two Cork brothers won the Palme d'Or in 2006?

Cillian Murphy plays Damien O'Donovan in the War of Independence drama.

In Sing Street, why does Conor form a band?

John Carney set the story at his own old school, Synge Street CBS, in 1980s Dublin.

Which Maroon 5 singer co-wrote and sang "Go Now" for Sing Street?

He wrote it with Carney and Glen Hansard; the film was Golden Globe-nominated.

Which American actor partners Brendan Gleeson's Garda sergeant in The Guard?

It became the most successful independent Irish film ever at the Irish box office.

In Calvary, what does the unseen confessor give Father James a week to do?

John Michael McDonagh shot the film around Easkey in County Sligo.

Which Kilkenny studio made The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers?

Founded in 1999, it earned Oscar nominations for its first four features.

Tomm Moore's 2009 debut feature tells the story of which object's creation?

It lost the Animated Feature Oscar to Pixar's Up.

What mythical creature is Ben's sister Saoirse revealed to be in Song of the Sea?

The film follows a lighthouse keeper's children on an island off the north-west coast in 1981.

In which city and year is Wolfwalkers set?

English hunter Bill Goodfellowe is summoned by the Lord Protector to wipe out the last wolves.

Which Irish director made Room, which won Brie Larson an Oscar?

He sent novelist Emma Donoghue a ten-page fan letter before learning she had already written a script.

The Quiet Girl made history in 2023 as the first Irish film to do what?

The Irish-language drama is based on Claire Keegan's story Foster.

Which Claire Keegan novella became a 2024 film starring and produced by Cillian Murphy?

Murphy plays a New Ross coal merchant who uncovers a Magdalene laundry.

Who plays Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's Hunger?

The film won the Camera d'Or at Cannes and features an unbroken 17-minute conversation with a priest.

How long is Hunger's famous unbroken conversation between Sands and the priest?

Fassbender said they did only five takes.

Which festival prize did The Magdalene Sisters win in 2002?

Peter Mullan made it because victims of the laundries had never received an apology.

Angela's Ashes follows Frank McCourt's childhood in which city?

Many of Alan Parker's street scenes were actually shot in Cork.

In Waking Ned, what kills the title character?

The village of Tullymore conspires to claim his nearly seven-million-pound ticket.

Where was Waking Ned, set in Ireland, actually filmed?

Fox Searchlight retitled it Waking Ned Devine for North America.

David Lean's Ryan's Daughter retells which French novel on the Dingle Peninsula?

Robert Mitchum said working with Lean was like building the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks.

Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday shared the Golden Bear with which animated film?

James Nesbitt plays march organiser Ivan Cooper; U2's song plays over the credits.

The 2024 film Kneecap was the first film in which language to premiere at Sundance?

The band members play themselves alongside Michael Fassbender.

Robert Flaherty's 1934 docufiction Man of Aran was shot on which island?

Eamon de Valera attended the Dublin opening of the film.

What is Ireland's oldest continuously operating film studio?

It opened in Bray, County Wicklow, in 1958.

Which Irish actress has four Oscar nominations, starting with Atonement at 13?

She was born in the Bronx and made her debut on the Irish medical drama The Clinic.

Brendan Gleeson won an Emmy for playing which statesman?

The former teacher is also known as Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter films.

Martin McDonagh won his first Oscar for which short film?

His brother John Michael directed The Guard and Calvary.

Which 2003 Dublin black comedy stars Cillian Murphy, Colm Meaney and Colin Farrell?

Colin Farrell opens the film by charming, then robbing, a cashier.