Every public holiday left in 2026, all ten for 2027, and the official school breaks for 2026/27. Plus your rights at work and how to get the most days off for the least annual leave.
Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day 2027 both fall on a weekend. Irish law gives you no automatic right to take the Monday or Tuesday off instead. You still get a benefit for each day, but it may not be a day off.
This guide puts every date in one place. It covers the public holidays left in 2026, all of 2027, and the official school breaks for the 2026/27 school year. All dates come from Citizens Information, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Department of Education and Youth.
Ireland has 10 public holidays a year
A public holiday is what most people call a bank holiday, and Ireland has 10 of them. Six always land on a Monday. The rest are fixed dates, so they move around the week from year to year.
There are three left in 2026. The October bank holiday is on Monday 26 October. Christmas Day is on a Friday and St Stephen's Day is on a Saturday.
| Holiday | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| October bank holiday | 26 October 2026 | Monday |
| Christmas Day | 25 December 2026 | Friday |
| St Stephen's Day | 26 December 2026 | Saturday |
All 10 public holidays in 2027
Each holiday follows a fixed rule. St Brigid's Day is the first Monday in February, with one exception: if 1 February is a Friday, that day is the holiday. In 2027, 1 February is a Monday, so both rules give the same date.
| Holiday | Date | Day | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | Friday | Fixed date |
| St Brigid's Day | 1 February | Monday | First Monday in February |
| St Patrick's Day | 17 March | Wednesday | Fixed date |
| Easter Monday | 29 March | Monday | Day after Easter Sunday |
| May bank holiday | 3 May | Monday | First Monday in May |
| June bank holiday | 7 June | Monday | First Monday in June |
| August bank holiday | 2 August | Monday | First Monday in August |
| October bank holiday | 25 October | Monday | Last Monday in October |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Saturday | Fixed date |
| St Stephen's Day | 26 December | Sunday | Fixed date |
Easter Monday moves the most. In 2026 it was 6 April. In 2027 it comes early, on 29 March.
Those seven are New Year's Day (a Friday) and the six Monday holidays. St Patrick's Day falls midweek. Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day fall on the weekend itself, so they add no long weekend for most people.
School holidays for 2026/27
The Department of Education and Youth sets the same Christmas, Easter and mid-term breaks for every school. They are in Circular 0018/2026. Summer holidays are not set nationally, so check those with your school.
| Break | Primary | Post-primary |
|---|---|---|
| October mid-term | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October 2026 | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October 2026 |
| Christmas | Last day Tue 22 December, back Wed 6 January 2027 | Last day Tue 22 December, back Wed 6 January 2027 |
| February mid-term | Thu 18 and Fri 19 February 2027 | Mon 15 to Fri 19 February 2027 |
| Easter | Last day Fri 19 March, back Mon 5 April 2027 | Last day Fri 19 March, back Mon 5 April 2027 |
Primary schools can add three of their own days to make the February break a full week. Many do, so ask your school. If a school loses days to something like a storm, it may have to cut the February or Easter break shorter.
minimum school days a year for primary schools. Post-primary schools must open for at least 166.
Source: assets.gov.ieYour rights on a public holiday
If you qualify, your employer picks one of four benefits for each public holiday. You do not get to choose, but you can ask which one you will get.
- A paid day off on the public holiday
- A paid day off within a month of the holiday
- An extra day of annual leave
- An extra day's pay
You can ask your employer which option applies at least 21 days before the holiday. If they do not reply at least 14 days before, you can take the public holiday itself as a paid day off.
Part-time workers have a 40-hour test
Full-time workers qualify straight away. Part-time workers qualify if they have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday. That is about 8 hours a week on average.
If you qualify but do not normally work on the day of the holiday, you are entitled to one-fifth of your normal weekly pay. If you normally work that day and get it off, you are paid for it as usual.
When a holiday falls on a weekend
Some countries move a weekend holiday to the next Monday. Ireland does not. The WRC says there is no legal right to have the next working day off.
You do keep a benefit. If Saturday is not a working day for you, your employer can give you a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or an extra day's pay. Many employers give the Monday off anyway, but that is their choice.
If Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, everyone gets the Monday off.
There is no legal right to the next working day off. In 2027, Christmas Day (Saturday) and St Stephen's Day (Sunday) still each earn a benefit, which your employer picks.
Get more days off for less leave
Because of how the dates fall, a few days of annual leave can turn into a long break. These examples assume you work Monday to Friday and count weekends as days off.
Planning tips: take X days, get Y off
- October 2026: take 4 days (Tue 27 to Fri 30 October), get 9 days off from Sat 24 October to Sun 1 November. This matches school mid-term.
- Christmas 2026: take 8 days (23, 24, 28 to 31 December, 4 and 5 January), get 14 days off from Wed 23 December to Tue 5 January. This covers the whole school break.
- St Patrick's Day 2027: take 2 days (Thu 18 and Fri 19 March), get 5 days off from Wed 17 to Sun 21 March.
- Easter 2027: take 9 days (22 to 26 March, 30 March to 2 April), get 16 days off from Sat 20 March to Sun 4 April. This covers the whole school Easter break.
- Combine the two: take 13 days (15, 16, 18, 19 March plus the 9 Easter days), get 23 days off from Sat 13 March to Sun 4 April.
Good Friday, 26 March 2027, is not a public holiday, so it counts as a day of leave in these sums. October 2027 repeats the 2026 trick: the bank holiday on Monday 25 October lines up with mid-term, so 4 days of leave gets you 9 days off.
Exam dates for 2027 are not out yet
Citizens Information says the exam dates for the 2027 Leaving Certificate have not been confirmed yet. The State Examinations Commission usually publishes the timetable well before June. We will add it when it appears.
October bank holiday and the start of school mid-term (to 30 October)
State Examinations Commission confirms the 2027 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle start date
Circular 0018/2026 already sets 2027/28 breaks: October mid-term 25 to 29 October 2027, Christmas close Wed 22 December 2027, reopen Thu 6 January 2028. Watch for any updated Department circular.
Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day fall on a weekend; ask your employer early which benefit you will get
- Citizens Information: Public holidays
- Workplace Relations Commission: Public holidays
- Department of Education and Youth: Circular 0018/2026, Standardisation of the school year 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 (PDF)
- Department of Education and Youth: Circular 0018/2026 page
- gov.ie: School holiday dates
- Citizens Information: Leaving Certificate
