Celebrate St. Paddy's Day with some great Irish themed movies. Hollywood had produced a number of great movies based in Ireland or on Irish characters. Many of these movies have won Academy Awards. The Quiet Man won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and Best Director. The Departed won four Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. It's hard to narrow it down to simply five top Irish movies as Hollywood has come up with some excellent films throughout the years. Here are five of the most influential Irish movies from the 1950s to today.

The Quiet Man 1952
Starring John Wayne as Sean Thornton and Maureen O’Hara as Mary Kate Danaher, “The Quiet Man” is about a disgraced American boxer that retired to Ireland and meets the love of his life. This film goes down as an Irish classic. Reuters
My Left Foot 1989
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown and Brenda Fricker as Mrs. Brown “My Left Foot” is about a man born with cerebral palsy and into a large Irish family. Christy learns how to paint and write with only his left foot. Reuters
The Boxer 1997
Another Daniel Day-Lewis film, this time about 19-year-old Danny Flynn who is imprisoned for his involvement with the IRA in Belfast. When he is released 14 years later he returns to his old working class neighborhood and resumes his life as a boxer. Reuters
Gangs of New York 2002
This Martin Scorsese film, with an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz is about Amsterdam Vallon seeking vengeance against that gangland kingpin who murdered his father years ago. Reuters
The Departed 2006
It’s no secret that the Irish mob ruled over Massachusetts. This film, again by director Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson is about two men from opposed sides of the law undercover within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish Mafia. Reuters
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