"Route Irish" was first shown on 20 May at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, in competition as part of the official selection. According to festival general Thierry Fremaux, the film was not finished in time for the ordinary cut-off date. However, producer Rebecca O'Brien submitted it anyway as soon as it was ready, and it was accepted as a late addition only two days before the festival started. Ken Loach said in an interview that the team never considered having it ready for Cannes, but when it turned out that they were ahead of the schedule the French co-producers pushed for a submission. The film was released generally in France on 16 March 2011, and on the 18th in the United Kingdom. It was nominated for a Magritte Award in the category of Best Foreign Film in Coproduction in 2012, but lost to "Romantics Anonymous".