A special St Patrick’s Day greeting from the makers of Wolfwalkers

Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland present a new and special St Patrick’s Day animation from Kilkenny studio Cartoon Saloon. Diving into the lore of their Academy Award-nominated Wolfwalkers, the short piece tells the story of Saint Patrick, his dealings with an ancient Celtic tribe, and how they became Wolfwalkers as part of their curse – or blessing.

Written by Will Collins and voiced by Eva Whittaker, who plays Mébh from the celebrated animated adventure, the greeting evokes the dazzling visual style and folkloric magic of feature film Wolfwalkers, which is currently available to stream on Apple TV+.

To further celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the producers, artists and crew behind Ireland’s creative screen industry, there is a wealth of online events, festivals and screenings where Irish and international audiences alike can escape with Irish film, television and animation.

Here are some of this week’s highlights:

View it on Volta: Free Irish films for St Patrick's Day Film Festival

Irish video on demand platform Volta, with the support of Screen Ireland, are hosting a Saint Patrick’s Film Festival and gifting Irish audiences access to a week of Irish films, including: Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan, A Date For Mad Mary, Frank, Metal Heart, The Man Who Wanted To Fly, His & Hers, Extra Ordinary, The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid and 32A.

The festival will run on Volta until March 21, and audiences can redeem the viewing code SPFF2021 to watch multiple films from the festival collection.

https://www.volta.ie/#!/page/8246/saint-patricks-film-festival

SEODA: Irish Arts Festival from Culture Ireland

More than 100 artists will be featured in Culture Ireland’s SEODA, an online festival and global celebration of Irish culture that runs March 17-21, 2021.

A selection of Screen Ireland-supported short films will screen on Wednesday 17 March at 2pm, including: Mary, Late Afternoon, The Swimmer, A Different Kind of Day and The Wiremen.

A special showcase of Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers will take place from 4pm, with Kíla in Concert followed by discussion: The Soundscapes of WolfWalkers with Kíla.

At 6.15pm, the Butler Gallery will host a Wolfwalkers Exhibition Discussion: Wolves in Ireland with directors of Cartoon Saloon.

SEODA will take place on Culture Ireland’s YouTube channel.

Irish Film London’s St Patrick’s Film Festival

Join Irish Film London (IFL) for an online extravaganza that amplifies and champions Irish talent across film, TV, and animation from Saturday 13th to Wednesday 17th March, including screenings of feature films The Winter Lake and Rose Plays Julie, followed by director Q+As.

IFL have also partnered with the London Irish Centre to provide short films for their St Patrick’s Day Special on 17th March – a diverse and day-long celebration of all things Irish. TV presenter Angela Scanlon will host the live event in the evening.

Join the Irish Film London St. Patricks’ Film Festival here.

Irish Film, TV and Animation on TV this St Patrick’s Day

Starting with tonight’s TV premiere of Julien Temple’s documentary Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan on BBC Four at 10pm, you can find Irish short film, animation and documentary screening for St Patricks’s Day:

Screen Ireland-supported animated short film The Wiremen will premiere on St Patrick’s Day on RTÉ One at 5.35pm.

Nora Twomey’s Academy Award-nominated The Breadwinner will screen on RTÉ 2 at 2.45pm

The Camino Voyage on TG4 at 7.45pm

In the words of Mébh Óg MacTíre: Beannachtaí na Lá Féile Pádraig!