Seven Lucky Movies to Watch This St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect day to wear green, enjoy Irish food, and settle in for a themed movie marathon. Not quite sure what to watch? Check out these seven movies. 

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Luck of the Irish (2001)

This sport-centered Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Paul Hoen, is about a boy, Kyle Johnson, played by Ryan Merriman, who discovers his Irish heritage. With this discovery comes the reveal of a family curse. When Johnson’s lucky coin is stolen by an evil leprechaun, he finds himself turning into a leprechaun. To undo this curse, he must win a basketball game to get his coin back and return to his human form. 

Luck of the Irish is available to watch on Disney+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.

The Secret of Kells (2009)

Directed by Tomm Moore, this animated fantasy feature takes place in remote Irish woods and follows Cellach (voiced by Brendan Gleeson), Brendan (voiced by Evan McGuire), and Aidan (voiced by Mick Lally). This trio prepares for the incoming Viking war party attack. 

The Secret of Kells is available to watch on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Fandango, and Apple TV.

Song of the Sea (2014)

This animated fantasy, also with voice actor Brendan Gleeson, this time voicing Conor, and directed by Tomm Moore, is a simple little watch. It follows an Irish boy, Ben, and his sister, Saorise, who set off on a quest to protect the spirit world from evil forces. 

Song of the Sea is available to watch on Apple TV, YouTube, Fandango, and Amazon Prime.

St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000)

This is the story of St. Patrick, a man (played by Patrick Bergin) who escapes from his confines, becomes a priest, and frees the Irish from their oppressors. Robert Hughes directed the historical drama. 

St. Patrick: The Irish Legend is available to watch on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Fandango.

Leapin' Leprechauns! (1995)

A comedy about a boy building a theme park on enchanted lands that belong to leprechauns, this movie is directed by Ted Nicolaou. The leprechauns join forces with an Irish elder (played by John Bluthal) to stop the destruction of their land. 

Leapin' Leprechauns! is available to watch on Fandango, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.

Leap Year (2010)

Anna (played by Amy Adams) plans to follow a Celtic tradition in this rom-com directed by Anand Tucker. The Celtic tradition that’s caught her eye allows women to pop the question to their boyfriends on February 29. She plans to follow her lover to Dublin, but it seems fate has something else in plan for her. 

Leap Year is available to watch on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Fandango, and Apple TV.

The Leprechaun Franchise (1993-Present) 

Now I'm sure this is what most of you thought of when you clicked on this list. The first character that comes to mind when you hear leprechaun is likely the Lucky Charms mascot, not for me, and likely a few other avid horror fans. Instead of that perky, magically delicious guy, we think of this foul-mouthed, short-tempered icon of St. Patrick’s Day: Leprechaun (or as many call him, Leppy-boy). 

The Leprechaun franchise started with the first movie, Leprechaun, in 1993. This first installment was directed by Mark Jones and starred Jennifer Aniston as Tory Reding and Warwick Davis as the titular Leprechaun. After 100 of his golden coins are stolen, Leppy-boy is captured and held dormant for years. Then one day, he’s accidentally freed and goes on a murderous rampage to reclaim his stolen coins. 

Leprechaun would somehow lead to seven more movies — my favorite being Leprechaun: Origins (2014) — and it would become a beloved cult classic. The most recent installment is Leprechaun Returns (2018), and there’s talk of a reboot of the first movie being made, meaning this franchise may still have more to frighten us with. 

You can find these cheesy horror movies all over streaming platforms, but most commonly on Amazon Prime and YouTube. You can also venture to the Mansfield Cinepolis on St. Patrick’s Day to watch their $5 special showing of the first movie.

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Grab your blankets and popcorn, and watch something animated, something Disney, or something spooky this St. Patrick’s Day.