{"id":26878,"date":"2026-07-14T19:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/?p=26878"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:56:09","slug":"how-many-holidays-in-ireland-a-complete-guide-to-public-holidays-bank-holidays-and-days-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/how-many-holidays-in-ireland-a-complete-guide-to-public-holidays-bank-holidays-and-days-off\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Holidays in Ireland? A Complete Guide to Public Holidays, Bank Holidays, and Days Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/p>\n

Hey everyone, it\u2019s your Holiday Little Assistant here! So I had a friend hit me up recently asking about that whole thing \u2013 \u201chow many holidays in Ireland?\u201d \u2013 and honestly, it\u2019s a question that comes up a lot. Maybe you\u2019re planning a trip, moving there, or just curious about how the Irish get their time off. Anyway, I\u2019ve done the digging, and now I\u2019m gonna break it all down for you in plain, easy-to-read talk. No jargon, no fluff \u2013 just the real deal.<\/p>\n

Alright, so first thing\u2019s first: Ireland has a total of ten public holidays each year. Sounds simple, right? But hold up \u2013 not all of them are always the same date. Some move around, and a couple are unique to Ireland (like St. Patrick\u2019s Day, duh). And here\u2019s a kicker: there\u2019s a difference between \u201cpublic holidays\u201d and \u201cbank holidays\u201d in Ireland, though most people just treat them the same. Let\u2019s walk through the complete list so you know exactly what you\u2019re lookin\u2019 at.<\/p>\n

1. New Year\u2019s Day (January 1)<\/strong> \u2013 yeah, pretty universal. Always a public holiday.<\/p>\n

2. St. Patrick\u2019s Day (March 17)<\/strong> \u2013 the big one. Huge parades, green beer, the whole shebang. If it falls on a weekend, sometimes they give you the Monday off \u2013 but not always. Keep an eye on the official calendar.<\/p>\n

3. Easter Monday<\/strong> \u2013 moves every year depending on Easter. This one\u2019s a public holiday too.<\/p>\n

4. First Monday in May<\/strong> \u2013 this is the May public holiday. Used to be the first Monday, but check the exact date.<\/p>\n

5. First Monday in June<\/strong> \u2013 June public holiday. Sometimes called \u201cJune Bank Holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. First Monday in August<\/strong> \u2013 August public holiday. It\u2019s a classic summer day off.<\/p>\n

7. Last Monday in October<\/strong> \u2013 October public holiday. Also known as Halloween bank holiday but officially just the last Monday.<\/p>\n

8. Christmas Day (December 25)<\/strong> \u2013 no explanation needed.<\/p>\n

9. St. Stephen\u2019s Day (December 26)<\/strong> \u2013 the day after Christmas. That\u2019s a big deal in Ireland \u2013 it\u2019s basically a second Christmas.<\/p>\n

10. Christmas Eve? No \u2013 wait<\/strong>, actually there\u2019s no official holiday on Christmas Eve. But some people get a half day? Not a national holiday.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s ten. But here\u2019s the important thing: some years they add an extra one if a holiday lands on a weekend. For example, if St. Patrick\u2019s Day is on a Saturday, they might move the public holiday to the following Monday. So technically, you could get 10, 11, or even 12 days off depending on the year. But the official count is always 10 public holidays. The government publishes a calendar each year \u2013 always good to double-check.<\/p>\n

Now, one thing people confuse \u2013 is the \u201cbank holiday\u201d thing. In Ireland, bank holidays are literally the days the banks close, but they match up with most public holidays. There are also some regional variations? Actually no, the whole country observes the same ten. That makes it easy for planning.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an employee, you\u2019re legally entitled to those ten days off (or pay in lieu if you have to work). Some employers give Good Friday as an extra day off, but Good Friday is not a public holiday in Ireland \u2013 it\u2019s a weird exception. So don\u2019t count on it unless your company specifically gives it.<\/p>\n

Questions related to how many holidays in Ireland<\/h2>\n

Q: Does Ireland have more holidays than the UK?<\/strong> Short answer: about the same. The UK has 8 public holidays in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland, 10 in Northern Ireland. Republic of Ireland has 10. So a little more than England but same as Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

Q: Are all holidays paid?<\/strong> Yes, if you\u2019re a full-time employee. Part-time workers get pro-rata. The law covers it.<\/p>\n

Q: What about holidays in Northern Ireland?<\/strong> That\u2019s a different set \u2013 Northern Ireland has 10 as well but different ones \u2013 they have Boxing Day, St. Patrick\u2019s Day, and also the Twelfth of July (a big unionist holiday). So if you\u2019re asking about the whole island, you need to specify.<\/p>\n

Q: Do schools and government offices all close on these days?<\/strong> Yep. Most businesses too, except hospitality and retail. You\u2019ll find supermarkets open reduced hours on Christmas and St. Stephen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Q: How do I know if a holiday has been moved?<\/strong> Usually the government announces it a year in advance. For example, if Christmas falls on a weekend, they confirm the alternative day. You can check \u2013 wait for it \u2013 on our website public holiday calendar dot com! We keep a current calendar.<\/p>\n

Alright, so to sum it all up: Ireland has ten public holidays every year \u2013 a mix of fixed dates and moving Mondays. Plus you sometimes get an extra if a holiday falls on a weekend. The key ones to remember: St. Patrick\u2019s Day (March 17), Easter Monday, the first Mondays in May, June, August, and October, and of course the Christmas double \u2013 Dec 25 and 26. That\u2019s your full list, folks.<\/p>\n

Thanks for hanging out with me here at public holiday calendar DOT COM. I hope this article gave you a clear picture of how many holidays Ireland has, and don\u2019t forget \u2013 if you\u2019ve got more questions about public holidays anywhere in the world, just hit me up. I\u2019m your Holiday Little Assistant \u2013 always here to help you plan your time off. \ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone, it\u2019s your Holiday Little Assistant here! So I had a friend hit me up recently asking about that whole thing \u2013 \u201chow many holidays in Ireland?\u201d \u2013 and honestly, it\u2019s a question that comes up a lot. Maybe you\u2019re planning a trip, moving there, or just curious about how the Irish get their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"How Many Holidays in Ireland? A Complete Guide to Public Holidays, Bank Holidays, and Days Off - Public Holiday Calendar","description":"Hey everyone, it\u2019s your Holiday Little Assistant here! So I had a friend hit me up recently asking about that whole thing \u2013 \u201chow many holidays in Ireland?\u201d \u2013 an"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[27701,27702,27703,344,9102],"class_list":["post-26878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-bank-holidays-ireland-2025","tag-holiday-calendar-ireland","tag-how-many-days-off-ireland","tag-ireland-public-holidays","tag-irish-public-holidays-list"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26879,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26878\/revisions\/26879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}