One of the best Irish movies ever is on TV tonight

It’s a great time to check out the film, which has been dubbed the greatest Irish film ever made.

Directed by renowned Ken Loach (Kes, I, Daniel Blake), The Wind That Shakes the Barley is an unflinching look at Ireland’s War of Independence and the bitter Civil War that followed.

Set in the early 1920s, the drama stars Cillian Murphy as Damien O'Donovan, a young medical student who abandons a promising future in London to join the IRA alongside his brother Teddy (Pádraic Delaney).

A united struggle for freedom soon fractures into a devastating family and ideological divide, as the brothers find themselves on opposing sides of the Irish Free State.

The 2006 release took home the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and remains one of Loach’s most critically acclaimed works.

Shot in his home county of Cork, Murphy delivers a quietly intense performance, embodying the internal conflict and heartbreak that comes with choosing between loyalty and principle.

Additionally, with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score and notes of realism, emotional weight, and political nuance, the film is often named the best ever made in Ireland.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley airs on RTÉ One tonight at 9.30pm. The movie is also currently available to stream for free on the RTÉ Player.

Here are the other movies on TV tonight:

Venom - E4 - 9pm

While exploring space for new worlds, a probe belonging to the Life Foundation discovers a comet covered in symbiotic lifeforms. 

The Godfather - BBC Two - 10pm

Francis Ford Coppola's gangster drama, starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton.

Coyote Ugly - ITV2 - 7pm

A shy would-be songwriter leaves her rural home and heads for the big city, where she takes a job in a bustling New York bar - but musical success could be just around the corner.

Death Wish - Legend - 1.10am

Vigilante thriller, starring Charles Bronson, Hope Lange and Vincent Gardenia.

Wired Shut - Legend Xtra - 11.15pm

While recovering from reconstructive jaw surgery in an isolated cabin, a writer has a visit from his estranged daughter - but she's not the only person who arrives.