School holidays 2026/27 in Ireland: an early Easter return
| Break | Primary schools | Post-primary schools |
|---|---|---|
| October mid-term break | to inclusive, 5 days All schools. | |
| Christmas holidays | Last day of termSchools re-open All schools. | |
| February mid-term break | to inclusive, 2 days Or, with three discretionary days, the full week from to (5 days). | to inclusive, 5 days |
| Easter holidays | Last day of termSchools re-open All schools. | |
Print this page for a one-page overview of the breaks in 2026/27, showing just the heading and table.
In 2026/27, schools re-open after Christmas in the middle of the week and after Easter in the first week of April. The table compares primary and post-primary dates. For February mid-term, check whether your primary school is taking Thursday and Friday or using discretionary days for the full week. Check the school's calendar for any changes after unforeseen closures.
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.
Christmas and Easter show the two printed days only; the February week at primary level is a choice each school makes. Circular 0018/2026.
At a glance
- Standardised school breaks
- four breaks: October mid-term, February mid-term, Christmas and Easter
- Weekdays off for mid-term, Calculated
- ten weekdays for post-primary schools; seven weekdays for primary schools, or ten weekdays with three discretionary days for the full February week. The full February week may be shortened to make up for unforeseen closures, but all schools must still close on Thursday and Friday; check your school's calendar.
- Between the Christmas school dates, Calculated
- ten weekdays between the last day of term and the re-opening day, excluding both dates (fourteen days in total); public holidays between them: Christmas Day (Friday 25 December 2026), St Stephen's Day (Saturday 26 December 2026) and New Year's Day (Friday 1 January 2027)
- Easter interval, Calculated
- ten weekdays between the last day of term and the re-opening day, excluding both dates (sixteen days in total); public holidays between them: Easter Monday (Monday 29 March 2027)
- Minimum teaching days
- 182 days for primary and special schools; 166 days for post-primary schools, required by the circular
- Equivalent school weeks, Calculated
- About 36 weeks at primary level and 33 weeks at post-primary level, based on the minimum number of teaching days and a five-day school week
- School year start and summer closing
- The circular gives the week containing Tuesday 1 September 2026 as the starting week, but sets no national opening date; each school sets its own opening and summer closing dates
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 to your calendar (.ics) The file includes only the dates shown in this table, with a note explaining the source or rule for each. No extra dates are added.
By calendar year instead: school holidays in 2026 · school holidays in 2027.
Days off and childcare cover for 2026/27
These figures assume a Monday-to-Friday working week. The 'Days off in a row' column includes adjoining weekends and public holidays for mid-term; for Christmas and Easter, it counts only the days between the last day of term and the re-opening day, excluding both. 'Working days needing childcare' means school weekdays off minus public holidays on those weekdays. All figures are worked out from the printed dates and marked Calculated. Use the table to plan childcare or leave, then check your school's calendar for discretionary days and any days it stays open during February or Easter to make up lost time.
| Break | Which schools | Days off in a row | School weekdays off | Public holidays on those weekdays | Working days needing childcare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October mid-term break | All schools | nine days, from to , inclusive | five weekdays | October bank holiday, | four weekdays |
| Christmas holidays | All schools | fourteen days between the last day of term and the re-opening day, excluding both | ten weekdays | Christmas Day, ; New Year's Day, | eight weekdays |
| February mid-term break | Primary schools: required Thursday and Friday | four days, from to , inclusive | two weekdays | None | two weekdays |
| February mid-term break | Primary schools: full week using three discretionary days | nine days, from to , inclusive | five weekdays | None | five weekdays |
| February mid-term break | Post-primary schools | nine days, from to , inclusive | five weekdays | None | five weekdays |
| Easter holidays | All schools | sixteen days between the last day of term and the re-opening day, excluding both | ten weekdays | Easter Monday, | nine weekdays |
Summer holidays are not standardised, so there is no national count; check your school's calendar for its dates.
Planning around the breaks in 2026/27
Christmas term ends on Tuesday and schools re-open on Wednesday, with fourteen days between those dates, not counting either day. Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall on Fridays during that time; St Stephen's Day falls on Saturday. The last day of term before Easter is a Friday in the second half of March, and schools re-open on the first Monday in April. There are sixteen days between those dates, with Good Friday and Easter Monday in late March.
October mid-term runs from the bank holiday, the last Monday of October, to Friday for all schools. In February, post-primary schools take the third week; primary schools close on Thursday and Friday or use three discretionary days for the full week. To make up time after unforeseen closures, a school authority may stay open up to and including the Wednesday of February mid-term. At Easter, only primary school authorities may do so until the Wednesday before Easter, inclusive.
Each break as the circular prints it
October mid-term break 2026/27
All schools will close from Monday 26 October 2026 to Friday 30 October 2026 inclusive.
Christmas holidays 2026/27
All schools will close on Tuesday 22 December 2026, which will be the final day of the school term.
All schools will re-open on Wednesday 6 January 2027.
February mid-term break 2026/27
All primary schools will close on Thursday 18 February 2027 and Friday 19 February 2027.
Primary schools may use 3 discretionary days to extend this break to an alternative option of a 5-day break for the period from Monday 15 February 2027 to Friday 19 February 2027 inclusive unless changes are required as part of contingency arrangements to make up for time lost due to unforeseen school closures.
Post-primary schools will close from Monday 15 February 2027 to Friday 19 February 2027 inclusive unless changes are required as part of contingency arrangements to make up for time lost due to unforeseen school closures.
Contingency: where time lost to unforeseen closures must be made up, the circular allows a school authority to keep the school open up to and including .
Easter holidays 2026/27
All schools will close on Friday 19 March 2027, which will be the final day of the school term, unless changes are required as part of contingency arrangements to make up for time lost due to unforeseen school closures.
All schools will re-open on Monday 5 April 2027.
Contingency: where time lost to unforeseen closures must be made up, the circular allows a primary school authority to keep the school open up to and including .
Rules of Circular 0018/2026
Circular 0018/2026 also sets the rules for 2026/27: schools open on the weekday before and after each break, discretionary days can extend breaks only where the circular allows, and the start and end of the school year are not standardised. They are quoted once, in the circular's words, on the standardised school year page; the summer page explains why there is no national closing date.
Public holidays from the October mid-term to the Easter re-opening, 2026/27
- October bank holiday:
- Christmas Day:
- St Stephen's Day:
- New Year's Day: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- St Brigid's Day (February bank holiday): (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- St Patrick's Day: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- Easter Monday: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
Questions parents ask
How close is St Patrick's Day to the Easter finish?
St Patrick's Day falls on Wednesday 17 March 2027, before the Easter last day of term on Friday 19 March 2027. The public holiday falls during term, ahead of the Easter break.
Does the February bank holiday begin the mid-term week?
No. The February bank holiday falls on Monday 1 February 2027, before post-primary mid-term begins on Monday 15 February 2027.
When do schools finish for Christmas and go back in 2026/27?
The last day of term is Tuesday 22 December 2026, and schools re-open on Wednesday 6 January 2027. These dates apply to both primary and post-primary schools.
Official documents
- 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)
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.