Bank Holidays in Ireland

Bank Holidays In Ireland

 

There are 9 bank holidays in Ireland each year. The name bank holiday originates in the 19th century, during when banks were closed for trading. At the time bank employees didn’t get time off, instead they would use those days to work on bookkeeping. Nowadays things are different and most banks are closed on these dates.

The majority of businesses and schools are are closed during bank holidays, while other services may work on a different schedule. Dublin Bus, as an example, operates on a Sunday schedule.

 Bank Holidays Dates:            

  1. New Year’s Day (1 January)            
  2. St. Patrick’s Day (17 March)
  3. Easter Monday
  4. May – First Monday
  5. June – First Monday
  6. August – First Monday
  7. October – Last Monday
  8. Christmas Day (25 December)
  9. St. Stephen’s Day (26 December)

Good Friday is not a bank holiday. While some schools and businesses close on that day, you have no automatic entitlement to time off work on that day.

 

How is Easter Monday’s date determined each year?

Easter Monday is the only bank holiday that can vary very much from year to year. Broadly speaking, Easter should be the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after 21 March. This means that the earliest possible date for Easter Sunday in any year is 22 March, the latest is 25 April.

Next Easter Monday 2020 will fall on the 13th of April.

 

Bank holiday dates in Ireland 2019:

DateMonthDayHoliday
1stJanuaryTuesdayNew Year’s Day
17thMarchSundaySt. Patrick’s Day
22thAprilMondayEaster Monday
6thMayMondayMay Day
3thJuneMondayJune Bank Holiday
5thAugustMondayAugust Bank Holiday
28thOctoberMondayOctober Bank Holiday
25thDecemberWednesdayChristmas Day
26thDecemberThursdaySt.Stephen’s Day

 

Bank holiday dates in Ireland 2020:

DateMonthDayHoliday
1stJanuaryWednesdayNew Year’s Day
17thMarchTuesdaySt. Patrick’s Day
13thAprilMondayEaster Monday
1stMayMondayMay Day
1stJuneMondayJune Bank Holiday
3rdAugustMondayAugust Bank Holiday
26thOctoberMondayOctober Bank Holiday
25thDecemberFridayChristmas Day
26thDecemberSaturdaySt.Stephen’s Day


What about the other EU countries? What’s their yearly average number of Bank Holidays?

European countries, on average, enjoy 11 public/ bank holidays. This makes Ireland short of two days when measured up against other EU countries.

Ireland has the third lowest public holidays in Europe, and fourth lowest public holidays in the world

In the EU only Hungary, Netherlands and the UK (8) have fewer public holidays than Ireland (9) and globally, only Mexico has fewer public holidays (7).

Countries with the highest number of Public Holidays in the world? 

Bank holidays in the world

Employees in India enjoy the greatest number of public holidays in the world with a stunning 21 days each year. Mexicans are the least fortunate with a count of only 7, making Mexico the country with the least number of Public Holidays globally.

Make the most of the Bank Holidays in Ireland, and check out DublinKid’s TOP THINGS TO DO in DUBLIN.

Happy Holidays 😉