It’s March and like so many, I’m thinking about Ireland. Truth be told, I’m often thinking about the Emerald Isle, but there’s something magical about the month that celebrates St. Patrick. What could be better than finding an Irish-themed book in the Libby app to satisfy your need for adventure from afar? Finding an equally entertaining and thought-provoking Irish-themed film in Kanopy. Think of this as the bangers to your mash, the shamrock to your shake, the Connell to your Marianne.

Dublin: Old traditions with new perspectives

St. Valentine is buried here. It was originally settled by the Vikings. It’s home to over 750 pubs. What is this magical place you ask? If you guessed Dublin, then raise your glass and shout “Sláinte!” Dublin Like a Local paired with One Million Dubliners will have you downloading the Aer Lingus app faster than you can say, “Direct flight to Dublin, please.”

📚 Dublin Like a Local by DK Eyewitness

Classics are classics for a reason. Dublin Castle. St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Anything Guinness. But have you heard of Chester Beatty Library or know how to best navigate George’s Street Arcade, Europe’s oldest covered market? If you want to feel like you have one shillelagh up on your visitor competition, then Dublin Like a Local is going to get you there. Endorsed by the locals of Dublin, this guide contains a breakdown of museums, shopping, nightlife and food that reads like a familiar conversation between friends.

🎥 One Million Dubliners

Kurt Vonnegut said, “It’s a small world. When you put it in a cemetery, it is.” The smallness of our existence, the interconnectedness of 1.5 million lives is what Aoife Kelleher sets out to explore in her documentary One Million Dubliners. Upon arrival, a viewer might believe they're just going to be learning about Glasnevin, Ireland’s national cemetery that houses the likes of Michael Collins, Brendan Behan and Daniel O’Connell. The opening scenes of the 2014 documentary certainly depict a business-as-usual approach to death. Tours are happening, candles are being lit in remembrance of the dead and the wooden coffin draped in flowers slowly fades from the shot only to be met with a quote from Ireland’s most notable writer, James Joyce: “In the midst of death, we are in life.”

The lead historian at Glasnevin, Shane Mac Thomais, speaks of some of the narratives that encompass this place where more living is happening than death. We learn that Glasnevin used the Loudon layout system for burial and that until more famous people started to be buried there, the cemetery was relatively unknown. Boasting over 200,000 visitors a year, viewers learn that the role of the dead is rooted deep in Irish culture. From a Parisian woman who makes regular pilgrimages to Michael Collins’ grave to a young woman who visits her mother to update her of family affairs, One Million Dubliners reminds us all of how stories keep us alive.

We are all storytellers

The Irish word for storyteller is seanchí (pronounced shan-ah-kee). While the origin of these storytellers is deeply rooted in Irish folklore, the roles of a seanchí are varied. A storyteller informs, persuades and entertains, but, most importantly, also inspires. Stories are the true litmus test of how we're more alike than different. Well Done, Mommy Penguin and The Queen of Ireland: The Life and Career of a Celebrated Irish Drag Queen, are two examples of personal journeys documented through the powerful instruments of narrative and cinematic spaces.

📚 Well Done, Mommy Penguin by Chris Haughton

Irish author and illustrator Chris Haughton’s children’s book clearly depicts the love and sacrifice penguins endure in order to provide for their families. Little Penguin is a very curious penguin asking Daddy Penguin numerous questions about his mom’s journey. Haughton provides a tale of sacrifice done in the name of love and family. He demonstrates how roles of parenting are fluid, with Mommy Penguin emerging as the role of provider and Daddy Penguin as the nurturing parent who assures Little Penguin along the way. There's a sweetness to the simplicity of unconditional love and labor that Haughton is able to demonstrate through bold artwork and precise diction.

🎥 The Queen of Ireland: The Life and Career of a Celebrated Irish Drag Queen starring Rory O’Neill

Watergate. Celebgate. Pantigate. Pantigate? On January 11, 2014, Rory O’Neill (aka drag queen Panti Bliss) appeared on RTÉ’s Saturday Night Show to discuss the experience of being gay in Ireland. After specifically name-dropping people who O’Neill deemed held anti-gay attitudes, RTÉ received a huge backlash which prompted the removal of the episode and a re-issue of an edited version of it. What happened next was a huge public outcry for the behavior of RTÉ and others on the treatment of O’Neill and the gay community at large. This is just one insightful piece of Conor Horgan’s 2015 documentary The Queen of Ireland: The Life and Career of a Celebrated Irish Drag Queen that chronicles O’Neill’s life in drag and LGBTQ+ activism.

Horgan makes the conscious decision to begin the documentary on May 23, 2015 in Dublin. The crowd is cheering, “Panti! Panti!” Panti appears holding up a bright yellow sign that reads “Equal.” Viewers are immediately immersed in history as this was the day Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote. The weaving of O’Neill’s own life (from Ballinrobe to Toyoko!) with the narratives of others experiences within the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland is inspiring and relevant to all.

All’s fair in love and war

The feeling of displacement or chaos often leads to the seeking of love. These next two selections remind me of what Raymond Carver might have been getting at when he wrote a short story and titled it, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Both Trespasses and Zoo confirm that love shows up in a multitude of ways, sometimes creating spaces of peace and other times quiet suffering.

📚 Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

A shift to Northern Ireland occurs in Lousie Kennedy’s debut novel. Much like in Zoo, war is woven into the fabric of the characters. What's said and omitted shapes their interactions with one another. Religious turmoil creates a forbidden romance between 24-year-old Cushla and a much older, married man named Michael. Nothing is in their favor except their own feelings about one another. While the relationship is no doubt flawed, it feels refreshingly honest. At the center of this novel is Cushla’s web of relationships that include her alcoholic mother, her brother, her pupils and Michael. Kennedy’s authentic depictions of romantic, work and familial connections, coupled with the stark reality of Northern Ireland in 1975, delivers a haunting experience.

🎥 Zoo starring Toby Jones, Penelope Wilton and Art Parkinson

Is there anything better than a book or film based off a true story? Somehow I feel more invested in what I’m watching or reading when I know there’s actual truth or what novelist Tim O’Brien has famously called “emotional truth” - stories that make you believe with your stomach. Now throw in a baby elephant and you have my undivided attention. Colin McIvor’s film delivers an adventure-driven tale based off the real events of Denise Weston Austin - better known as the "elephant angel" - who rescued a baby elephant from the Belfast Zoo and kept it at her home during the 1941 Belfast air raids.

McIvor centers the story around 12-year-old Tom, who makes it his mission to save Buster, the baby elephant, from being euthanized. Tom enlists the help of some unsuspecting characters that quickly become a chosen family during war-torn Northern Ireland.

*Access to films and books varies by country and library.

Download the Kanopy and Libby apps to get started and subscribe to the Libby Life newsletter for more great recommendations delivered to your inbox weekly.