Bank holidays in Ireland
Bank holidays 2026
| Weekday | Date | Public holiday | In the law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | the 1st day of January | |
| Monday | St Brigid's Day (February bank holiday) | the first Monday in February, or 1 February when it falls on a Friday (S.I. No. 50/2022) | |
| Tuesday | St Patrick's Day | St. Patrick's Day | |
| Monday | Easter Monday | Easter Monday | |
| Monday | May bank holiday | the first Monday in May | |
| Monday | June bank holiday | the first Monday in June | |
| Monday | August bank holiday | the first Monday in August | |
| Monday | October bank holiday | the last Monday in October | |
| Friday | Christmas Day | Christmas Day | |
| Saturday, at the weekend | St Stephen's Day | St. Stephen's Day |
At a glance
- Published calendar years
- Years covered: 2026, 2027 and 2028
- Weekend totals by year, Calculated
- Public holidays on weekend days: 2026: one; 2027: two; 2028: one
- Long weekends by year, Calculated
- Long weekend counts: 2026: seven; 2027: seven; 2028: eight
Figures marked Calculated are worked out from the dates in the circular or the Commission's list, or from dates established by the Act and the regulations. The sources do not give these figures directly.
Ireland has ten public holidays each year, commonly called bank holidays in everyday conversation. The legal list is in the Act, with the February holiday prescribed by a statutory instrument. Most fall on a Monday, but the year pages give each holiday's weekday so you can check the full calendar. Each year table states whether its dates come from the Workplace Relations Commission's list or are worked out from the rules in the law, and marks the calculated ones.
In Ireland there are ten public holidays each year. (Workplace Relations Commission)
- Bank holidays 2026as listed by the WRC
- Bank holidays 2027worked out from the rules in the Act
- Bank holidays 2028worked out from the rules in the Act
- Next bank holidaycounted in Dublin time
- St Brigid's Daythe February bank holiday and its rule
- Good Fridaynot a public holiday
The list in the Act
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), Second Schedule, paragraph 1:
1. Each of the following days shall, subject to the subsequent provisions of this Schedule, be a public holiday for the purposes of this Act:
(a) Christmas Day,
(b) St. Stephen's Day,
(c) St. Patrick's Day,
(d) Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in June and the first Monday in August,
(e) the last Monday in October,
(f) the 1st day of January,
(g) any other day or days prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.
The February bank holiday (St Brigid's Day)
S.I. No. 50/2022 Organisation of Working Time (Covid-19 Commemoration) Regulations 2022, made under section 7 of, and paragraph 1(g) of the Second Schedule to, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997:
Subject to Regulation 5, the first Monday in February 2023 and the first Monday in February each year thereafter is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1997.
Regulation 4 shall not apply in any year where the 1st day of February falls on a Friday and instead, in each such year, the 1st day of February is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1997.
The Workplace Relations Commission puts it this way:
From 2023, there is a public holiday on the first Monday in February, except where 1st February falls on a Friday in which case that Friday 1st February will be the public holiday.
Public holidays at the weekend
A public holiday at the weekend does not automatically move to the next weekday or make that weekday a public holiday, though it may be a public holiday in its own right. The Workplace Relations Commission explains:
However, there is no legal entitlement to have the next working day off work.
- St Stephen's Day (Saturday 26 December 2026) falls at the weekend; the next weekday, , is not a public holiday.
- Christmas Day (Saturday 25 December 2027) and St Stephen's Day (Sunday 26 December 2027) fall at the weekend; the next weekday, , is not a public holiday.
- New Year's Day (Saturday 1 January 2028) falls at the weekend; the next weekday, , is not a public holiday.
For employee entitlements, which this site does not cover, consult the Workplace Relations Commission.
Good Friday
Good Friday is not a public holiday and is a normal working day. Why, and the dates.Common questions
How many bank holidays are there in Ireland?
Ireland has ten public holidays in each calendar year. Bank holiday is the everyday name, while public holiday is the legal term.
Is Good Friday a bank holiday?
No, Good Friday is not a public holiday. It falls on Friday 3 April 2026, Friday 26 March 2027 and Friday 14 April 2028 in the years covered here. The Workplace Relations Commission describes it as a normal working day.
When is the February bank holiday?
The February bank holiday dates are Monday 2 February 2026, Monday 1 February 2027 and Monday 7 February 2028. Under the regulations, it falls on the first Monday in February unless the month begins on a Friday, when that Friday is the holiday.
Official documents
- Workplace Relations Commission: Public Holidays (first read on 26 October 2026; checked again on 2 November 2026, unchanged)
- Irish Statute Book: Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Second Schedule (as enacted) (first read on 26 October 2026; checked again on 2 November 2026, unchanged)
- Irish Statute Book: S.I. No. 50/2022 Organisation of Working Time (Covid-19 Commemoration) Regulations 2022 (HTML) (first read on 26 October 2026; checked again on 2 November 2026, unchanged)
Every date on this page was checked against these documents on . If anything here differs from the circular or the Act, the official text applies. How the dates are checked.