Public holidays in Ireland
10 days in 2026 · 10 in 2027
Back to IrelandNext public holiday
October Holiday
Lá Saoire i mí Dheireadh Fómhair
After it: Christmas Day, Friday 25 December
Monday, 26 October 2026
Ireland has 10 public holidays a year, and in 2026 nine of them land on a weekday. Five are set by the calendar rather than a date: Easter Monday, the first Mondays of May, June and August, and the last Monday in October. The newest, St Brigid's Day, was first kept in 2023 and falls on the first Monday in February, or on 1 February itself when that is a Friday.
Good Friday is missing from the list. Banks close on it and state schools are already on their Easter break, but no employee has a legal right to the day off. The Bank Holidays Act 1871, which created the first bank holidays in Ireland, left out Good Friday and Christmas Day because both were already kept as days of rest and worship.
What a worker is owed on the day comes from the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997: a paid day off, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave or an extra day's pay. An employee can ask 21 days ahead which one applies, and an employer who has not answered 14 days before the holiday owes the day itself.
- Days off in 2026
- 10Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 9Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 1Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 7and 2 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Ireland in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayLá CailleNew Year's Day, added to the statutory list by regulation in 1974. New Year's Eve stays a working day, although many people take it off.Thursday
- 2 February: Saint Brigid's DayLá Fhéile BrídeSt Brigid's Day, a public holiday since 2023 and the first in Ireland named after a woman. It also marks Imbolc, and with it all four traditional Celtic seasonal festivals now carry a public holiday.MondayDate moves
- 17 March: Saint Patrick's DayLá Fhéile PádraigThe national day. The Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, brought in by the MP James O'Mara, made it an official holiday.Tuesday
- 6 April: Easter MondayLuan CáscaThe Monday after Easter Sunday and one of the four holidays in the 1871 Act. The Easter Rising of 1916 is commemorated around it.MondayDate moves
- 4 May: May DayLá BealtaineAdded in 1993 and first kept in 1994. The law calls it only the first Monday in May; the Irish name ties it to the festival of Bealtaine.MondayDate moves
- 1 June: June HolidayLá Saoire i mí an MheithimhWhit Monday until the Holidays (Employees) Act 1973 replaced it with the first Monday in June. The Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations start on the Wednesday after it.MondayDate moves
- 3 August: August HolidayLá Saoire i mí LúnasaA holiday since 1871, the oldest of the Monday holidays. It shares its month with Lúnasa, the traditional festival.MondayDate moves
- 26 October: October HolidayLá Saoire i mí Dheireadh FómhairAdded in 1977. It sits close to Halloween and Samhain, and secondary schools take their first mid-term week around it.MondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayLá NollagChristmas Day. Kept as a common law holiday before any statute listed it; the Holidays (Employees) Act 1939 put it on the list.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayLá Fhéile StiofáinSt Stephen's Day, also Lá an Dreoilín, the Day of the Wren. One of the four bank holidays of 1871.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Ireland in 2026
Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.
- 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 3daysSat 31 Jan to Mon 2 FebSaint Brigid's Day
- 4daysSat 14 Mar to Tue 17 MarWith Mon 16 Mar taken as leave · Saint Patrick's Day
- 3daysSat 4 Apr to Mon 6 AprEaster Monday
- 3daysSat 2 May to Mon 4 MayMay Day
- 3daysSat 30 May to Mon 1 JunJune Holiday
- 3daysSat 1 Aug to Mon 3 AugAugust Holiday
- 3daysSat 24 Oct to Mon 26 OctOctober Holiday
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Ireland in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayLá CailleFriday
- 1 February: Saint Brigid's DayLá Fhéile BrídeMondayDate moves
- 17 March: Saint Patrick's DayLá Fhéile PádraigWednesday
- 29 March: Easter MondayLuan CáscaMondayDate moves
- 3 May: May DayLá BealtaineMondayDate moves
- 7 June: June HolidayLá Saoire i mí an MheithimhMondayDate moves
- 2 August: August HolidayLá Saoire i mí LúnasaMondayDate moves
- 25 October: October HolidayLá Saoire i mí Dheireadh FómhairMondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayLá NollagSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayLá Fhéile StiofáinSunday
Observances
Days marked in Ireland that are not days off
- 3 April: Good FridayAoine an ChéastaGood Friday. A bank holiday and a school holiday, not a public holiday, so the day off depends on the employer.FridayDate moves
A public holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday stays on its date. St Stephen's Day does so on Saturday 26 December 2026, and in 2027 Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day take the whole weekend. Employees still earn the holiday benefit, and the day off is generally given on the next weekday, but the law gives no automatic right to it. Banks keep their own list: in 2026 they close on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 December.
The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 lets the minister add a public holiday by regulation, and it has been used three times, each for a single day: 31 December 1999 for the millennium, 14 September 2001 as a day of mourning after the September 11 attacks, and 18 March 2022, remembering those who died in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Northern Ireland keeps the United Kingdom's holidays, so the calendars on this page cover the state alone.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Ireland
How many public holidays does Ireland have in 2026?
Ten, the same number every year since St Brigid's Day was first kept in 2023. In 2026 nine fall on a weekday and one, St Stephen's Day on Saturday 26 December, on a weekend. In 2027 two land on a weekend, because Christmas Day is a Saturday and St Stephen's Day a Sunday. Good Friday is not counted: it is a bank holiday only.
Is Good Friday a public holiday in Ireland?
No. Good Friday is a bank holiday, so banks close, and state schools are shut for the Easter break, but workers have no automatic right to time off. Some businesses close anyway. In 2026 it fell on 3 April and in 2027 it falls on 26 March, so Easter Monday gives a three-day weekend by law and four days only where an employer closes on the Friday.
When is the St Brigid's Day holiday?
On the first Monday in February, unless 1 February is a Friday, in which case that Friday is the holiday. It was Monday 2 February in 2026 and is Monday 1 February in 2027, when the saint's feast and the holiday coincide.
What are the long weekends in Ireland in 2026?
Six Monday holidays make three-day weekends: 31 January to 2 February, Easter from 4 to 6 April, then 2 to 4 May, 30 May to 1 June, 1 to 3 August and 24 to 26 October. Christmas Day on a Friday starts three days off with St Stephen's Day on the Saturday. A day of leave on Friday 2 January or Monday 16 March turns New Year's Day or St Patrick's Day into four days.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend in Ireland?
The holiday stays where it is, and employees are still owed the benefit for it. There is no automatic legal right to the next working day off, although the day is generally observed on the next weekday. It matters in 2027, when Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and St Stephen's Day on a Sunday.
Is 27 December a holiday in Ireland?
For banks and schools, not for workers. It is a bank holiday and falls inside the school Christmas break, but it is not one of the ten public holidays. Like the public holidays around it, it can shift to 28 or 29 December when Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day lands on a weekend.
Do part-time workers get public holidays in Ireland?
Yes, once they have worked at least 40 hours for the employer in the five weeks before the holiday. A part-time worker whose usual day is the holiday gets that day paid; one who never works that day of the week gets a fifth of the weekly pay instead. Full-time employees qualify from their first day, with no hours test.
Are shops open on public holidays in Ireland?
Many are. Most businesses and schools close on a public holiday, but nothing in Irish law obliges them to, and a good number of shops open, some on shorter hours. Public transport keeps running, usually on a reduced timetable. Good Friday differs: banks close and other businesses may choose to, though it is not a public holiday.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.