October mid-term (Halloween break) in Ireland 2027 and 2028
| School year | All schools |
|---|---|
| 2027/28 | to inclusive, 5 days |
| 2028/29 | to inclusive, 5 days |
| 2026/27, past | to inclusive, 5 days |
| 2025/26, past | to inclusive, 5 days |
School dates here follow the Department of Education and Youth's circulars for the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland schools follow a different calendar from their own Department of Education, which this site does not cover.
October mid-term break 2027/28: the break starts in 355 days, on Monday 25 October 2027.
Counted in Dublin time on Wednesday 4 November 2026.
At a glance
- Shared school closure, Calculated
- five weekdays from Monday 25 October 2027 to Friday 29 October 2027, including both dates (five days in total)
- Public holidays within, Calculated
- The week begins with the October bank holiday on Monday 25 October 2027
- Closure begins compared with 2026/27, Calculated
- one day earlier in the calendar than in 2026/27, when the date was Monday 26 October 2026
- Length compared with 2026/27, Calculated
- The same number of weekdays as in 2026/27
- Days off including adjoining weekends, Calculated
- nine days, from Saturday 23 October 2027 to Sunday 31 October 2027, inclusive
- Working days needing childcare, Calculated
- four weekdays to cover if you work Monday to Friday, after excluding the public holiday on a weekday of this break: October bank holiday (Monday 25 October 2027)
- Clocks go back, Calculated
- Sunday 31 October 2027, the Sunday immediately after the mid-term week
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.
Add all school breaks for 2027/28 to your calendar The file contains every standardised break for 2027/28, each with its source, and no other entries.
October mid-term, also called the Halloween break or Halloween mid-term, gives primary and post-primary schools a shared full week off. For 2027 and 2028, the table lists the dates for each published school year, with the circular's wording beneath each entry. Schools close from Monday to Friday inclusive. The break begins on the October bank holiday, the last Monday of the month. Unlike February, October has no separate primary arrangement: the same week applies to primary and post-primary schools, even when the Friday falls in November.
October (Halloween) mid-term year by year, in the circular's words
October mid-term break 2027/28
All schools will close from Monday 25 October 2027 to Friday 29 October 2027 inclusive.
October bank holiday 2027: (worked out from the rule in the Act), the first day of the mid-term week. Bank holidays 2027.
The clocks go back on Sunday 31 October 2027, the Sunday immediately after the mid-term week, Calculated.
October mid-term break 2028/29
All schools will close from Monday 30 October 2028 to Friday 3 November 2028 inclusive.
October bank holiday 2028: (worked out from the rule in the Act), the first day of the mid-term week. Bank holidays 2028.
The clocks go back on Sunday 29 October 2028, the Sunday immediately before the mid-term week, Calculated.
October mid-term break 2026/27
All schools will close from Monday 26 October 2026 to Friday 30 October 2026 inclusive.
October bank holiday 2026: , the first day of the mid-term week. Bank holidays 2026.
The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026, the Sunday immediately before the mid-term week, Calculated.
October mid-term break 2025/26
All schools will close from Monday 27th October 2025 to Friday 31st October 2025 inclusive.
Clocks going back
Article 2(b) of S.I. No. 506/2001 Winter Time Order, 2001 sets the start of winter time, when the clocks go back, on the last Sunday in October:
For the year 2002 and subsequent years a period of winter time begins at one o'clock Greenwich mean time in the morning of the last Sunday in October in any year and ends at one o'clock Greenwich mean time in the morning of the last Sunday in March in the following year.
Questions parents ask
Are the Halloween break and October mid-term the same?
Yes, Halloween break and October mid-term mean the same school break. In 2027/28, it runs from Monday 25 October 2027 to Friday 29 October 2027.
When does the October bank holiday fall during mid-term?
The October bank holiday falls on Monday 25 October 2027. Mid-term begins on Monday 25 October 2027, so the holiday is the first day of the break.
Can a school change or extend October mid-term?
The circular sets October mid-term from Monday 25 October 2027 to Friday 29 October 2027. Discretionary days cannot lengthen that closure unless the circular's religious observance exception applies.
Official documents
- Department of Education: Circular 0072/2022 Standardisation of the school year ... 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 (DOCX, 10 November 2022) (first read on 26 October 2026; checked again on 2 November 2026, unchanged)
- Department of Education and Youth: Circular 0018/2026 Standardisation of the school year ... 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 (PDF, February 2026) (first read on 26 October 2026; checked again on 2 November 2026, unchanged)
- 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)
- Irish Statute Book: S.I. No. 506/2001 Winter Time Order 2001 (read on )
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.