10 Classic Dublin Films

With Dublin Oldschool currently going down a treat in Irish cinemas, it's as good a time as any to look back on other gems that have been set in the Fair City.

Leaving aside the cheesy 'Bejaysus!' and 'To be sure, to be sure' tropes usually peddled by American filmmakers, these are some of the best films to have defined the Irish capital on celluloid over the decades...

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THE COMMITMENTS (1991)

You simply can't have a list of Dublin films without mentioning possibly the greatest of them all; it'd be like a coddle without the boiled rashers. Alan Parker's 1991 adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel about a group of misfit Dub musicians who form an unlikely soul band remains a classic for all the right reasons: it's got wit, bittersweetness, laugh-out-loud hilarity and some great, great songs. No matter how many times you've seen it before, you'll still watch it every time it's on telly.

ADAM & PAUL (2004)

There is a extra sense of poignancy when watching Adam & Paul these days, given the fact that one of its leads, Tom Murphy, (aka Paul) passed away far too soon at the age of just 39 in 2007. However, his performance in this film ensured that he'll be remembered for a long time to come. Set across one day in Dublin, the Lenny Abrahamson-directed tale of two drug addicts opens with Adam (Mark O'Halloran, who also penned the script, and pops up in Dublin Oldschool) glued to a mattress in the middle of a field, and things only get worse for the hapless pair as they traverse the city to scrounge, rob and charm their way to their next fix. It could well have turned out to be a snide, patronising look at the life of heroin addicts – but the dark humour and genuine warmth of the duo's friendship makes for an abidingly brilliant watch.

ONCE (2007)

It's no real surprise that some of the most enduring Dublin-based films have had a musical link. John Carney's tale of a down-at-heel busker (Glen Hansard) who falls for a Czech flower seller (Marketa Irglova) had charm by the bucketload, so it's also no surprise that it did so well outside of Ireland, too. Numerous Dublin locations - from the (now, sadly gone) Walton's to Grafton Street to Hansard's own flat – featured prominently, and life imitated art when the pair went on to form The Swell Season and embarked upon a real-life relationship for a time, despite the 18-year age gap. (Spoiler: it didn't last. Sorry.)

MY LEFT FOOT (1989)

It's a film that has gone down in the annals as one of the all-time Irish greats – admittedly, largely due to Daniel Day-Lewis's superb performance as Christy Brown. But the story of the famous Dublin artist and writer, afflicted but unbowed by cerebral palsy, remains an inspiring one almost thirty years after Jim Sheridan's adaptation of his autobiography. Documenting his trials and his triumphs growing up in a working class Dublin family in Crumlin, 'Let Christy take it!' will forever be a war cry for the little guy who refused to be defeated by his condition.

THE GENERAL (1998)

It's always a risk when the life story of a dangerous criminal is adapted for the big (or small screen); do you want to depict the truth, or glamourise it for mass consumption? (hello, Narcos). To his credit, John Boorman's tale of Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill erred largely on the side of the former, with Brendan Gleeson turning in a superb performance as Cahill, the perennial thorn in the side of Inspector Ned Kelly (Jon Voight) – particularly after his theft of stolen paintings and the ensuing investigation. Much of the film was shot around the Dublin suburbs of Ranelagh and the South Lotts area, while Boorman even won 'Best Director' at Cannes for his work.

THE SNAPPER (1993)

Yeah, yeah, so it's another Roddy Doyle adaptation - but this one makes the list for a very good reason. It may not be as iconic as The Commitments (at least to non-Irish audiences), but The Snapper (like The Van, the third in Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy) remains a classic for reasons only Irish people will fully understand. To recap briefly: shop worker Sharon Curley causes a local scandal of epic proportions when it's discovered that she's 'up the pole', and let's just say that rumours of the sprog's paternity are not favourable in the slightest. From the opening line: 'YOU'RE WHA'?!' to the closing scene, it's one of the most quotable Dublin films ever made – not to mention one of the funniest. (FYI: the first theatrical adaptation of it is currently running at Dublin's Gate Theatre).

SING STREET (2016)

John Carney makes the list for a second time – and yes, it's another musical film set in Dublin. Hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it? Like all coming-of-age films, Sing Street (set in the 1980s) follows a tried-and-trusted formula; young, misunderstood teenage boy finds himself thrust into a new world that he doesn't quite fit into. On this occasion, young Conor aka Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) takes on that role when his dad takes him out of his posh fee-paying school and lands him in the local CBS on Dublin's Synge Street. He finds solace in music, however, but there are more than a few awkward/amusing encounters as he discovers his own voice in more than one way. If you didn't like this film even a little bit, you have a heart of stone.

INTO THE WEST (1992)

Okay, okay, so it's not strictly a Dublin film; as the title suggests, much of this Mike Newell-directed, Jim Sheridan-written movie takes place as the two young traveller heroes traverse the country in search of their magical horse, Tir na nOg. Still, given that a lot of the film was shot in the Dublin suburb of Ballymun (when the tower blocks were still intact, too) before Tayto and Ossie embark on their adventure, it makes the grade. And 26 years on, there's still a magic, an innocence and an undeniable poetry to this gorgeous film.

I WENT DOWN (1997)

Irish crime capers don't come much better than this. Brendan Gleeson stars as witless Dublin mobster Bunny Kelly, who is inadvertently paired with Git Hynes (Peter McDonald) – a recently-released-from-prison criminal who must repay a debt to a local mob boss by travelling to Cork to bring his associate back to Dublin. In that sense, admittedly, it's really more of a road trip film than one set in Dublin, per se - but much of it was shot within the city, nonetheless. There are so many twists and turns to Paddy Breathnach's film that it could easily become head-spinning, but the performances of both Gleeson and McDonald are laced with the right balance of barbed humour and slapstick to keeps things on track.

KISSES (2008)

A film that is all-too-often overlooked when it comes to such lists, Lance Daly's gem follows two mischievous Dublin teens and neighbours, Dylan and Kylie, who decide to run away from their respective troubled lives in the suburbs. Their adventure takes them into the city, which plays as prominent a role in this underrated gem as the two young leads, Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry (schoolkids who had little to no acting experience between them). Not only does the gorgeous cinematography give Dublin-at-Christmas an extra magical feel, but the down-to-earth script and natural chemistry between Curry and O'Neill make this both a poignant and quietly entrancing film.

10 Classic Dublin Films

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