2027/28 school holidays in Ireland: later February and April breaks
| 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 2027/28, showing just the heading and table.
February mid-term falls later in 2027/28 than in the school years either side of it, and schools re-open after Easter in the last week of April. At Christmas, term ends on a Wednesday and schools return on a Thursday. Compare the primary and post-primary February dates in the table, then check your school's calendar before arranging childcare.
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 (Saturday 25 December 2027), St Stephen's Day (Sunday 26 December 2027) and New Year's Day (Saturday 1 January 2028)
- 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 17 April 2028)
- 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 Wednesday 1 September 2027 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 2027 · school holidays in 2028.
Days off and childcare cover for 2027/28
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 | None | ten 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 2027/28
The last day of term before Christmas is a Wednesday, and schools re-open on a Thursday. There are fourteen days between those dates, excluding both. Christmas Day and New Year's Day are Saturdays; St Stephen's Day is a Sunday, all within that interval. Easter's Friday last day of term is in April's first full week, with Monday re-opening in its last week. Sixteen days separate those printed days, excluding both; Good Friday and Easter Monday lie between them in mid-April.
The October bank holiday opens the shared Monday-to-Friday mid-term week. February's post-primary break is in the last full week; primary schools take Thursday and Friday, or the week using three discretionary days. A school authority recovering time lost to unforeseen closures may remain open through the named February Wednesday. Easter's equivalent permission extends through the Wednesday before the Easter weekend and is available only to a primary school authority.
Each break as the circular prints it
October mid-term break 2027/28
All schools will close from Monday 25 October 2027 to Friday 29 October 2027 inclusive.
Christmas holidays 2027/28
All schools will close on Wednesday 22 December 2027, which will be the final day of the school term.
All schools will re-open on Thursday 6 January 2028.
February mid-term break 2027/28
All primary schools will close on Thursday 24 February 2028 and Friday 25 February 2028.
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 21 February 2028 to Friday 25 February 2028 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 21 February 2028 to Friday 25 February 2028 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 2027/28
All schools will close on Friday 7 April 2028 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 24 April 2028.
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 2027/28: 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, 2027/28
- October bank holiday: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- Christmas Day: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- St Stephen's Day: (worked out from the Act and the regulations)
- 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
Is St Brigid's Day before or after February mid-term in 2027/28?
The St Brigid's Day bank holiday falls on Monday 7 February 2028, before February mid-term. Post-primary mid-term begins on Monday 21 February 2028, and the required primary break begins on Thursday 24 February 2028.
Is St Patrick's Day in the Easter break this time?
No. St Patrick's Day falls on Friday 17 March 2028, during term. The last day of term before Easter is Friday 7 April 2028.
Do Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day and New Year's Day all fall at the weekend?
Yes. Christmas Day falls on Saturday 25 December 2027, St Stephen's Day on Sunday 26 December 2027, and New Year's Day on Saturday 1 January 2028. All fall at the weekend during the school Christmas break between the last day of term on Wednesday 22 December 2027 and re-opening on Thursday 6 January 2028.
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)
- 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.