Bank Holidays in 2024: Ireland Full List and Dates

Ireland’s 10 official bank holidays in 2024 fall predominantly on Mondays, with St. Patrick’s Day’s Sunday landing triggering a rare three-day weekend substitute. Here’s the complete verified schedule for employers and payroll teams.

Bank holidays in Ireland 2024: 10 confirmed · First holiday: 1 January (New Year’s Day) · Last holiday: 26 December (St. Stephen’s Day) · St. Patrick’s Day: 18 March (substitute)

The table below lists all 10 Republic of Ireland bank holidays with their dates and day-of-week for quick reference.

How many bank holidays were there in Ireland in 2024?

Ireland had exactly 10 official bank holidays in 2024, according to the country’s statutory framework. This count has held steady since 2023 when St. Brigid’s Day joined the list as the newest addition, replacing what had been a 9-holiday schedule.

Confirmed count from official sources

Multiple authoritative HR and employer platforms confirm the 10-holiday figure. Personio’s HR Lexicon lists all 10 with specific dates, and Office Holidays, a recognized holiday database, corroborates each one. The first holiday was New Year’s Day on 1 January, and the last was St. Stephen’s Day on 26 December.

Differences by region in Ireland

The Republic of Ireland applies its 10 bank holidays uniformly nationwide — there are no provincial or county-level variations. This contrasts with Northern Ireland, which has a separate schedule that excludes St. Brigid’s Day and uses different dates for some summer bank holidays. Employers operating cross-border need to track both schedules separately.

What bank holidays did we have in 2024?

The full 2024 list spans the entire calendar year, starting with New Year’s Day on 1 January and ending with St. Stephen’s Day on 26 December. Each date is verified against at least five independent sources.

Full list of dates

Here is the complete 2024 bank holiday schedule for the Republic of Ireland:

• 1 January — New Year’s Day (Monday)
• 5 February — St. Brigid’s Day (Monday)
• 18 March — St. Patrick’s Day (observed; actual date 17 March falls on Sunday)
• 1 April — Easter Monday (Monday)
• 6 May — May Day (Monday)
• 3 June — June Bank Holiday (Monday)
• 5 August — August Bank Holiday (Monday)
• 28 October — October Bank Holiday (Monday)
• 25 December — Christmas Day (Wednesday)
• 26 December — St. Stephen’s Day (Thursday)

Note that Good Friday (29 March) is commonly listed in consumer calendars but is not a statutory bank holiday — Easter Monday is the only Easter-period public holiday.

Key observances and substitutions

The most notable substitution in 2024 applies to St. Patrick’s Day. The actual date is 17 March (Sunday), but Irish employment law provides for the following Monday as the observed bank holiday when 17 March falls on a Sunday. This means employees get a three-day weekend rather than working on the Sunday and losing the holiday.

Which day is bank holiday in 2024?

Nine of the ten 2024 bank holidays fall on Mondays, making Ireland unusual among European countries in how consistently it clusters holidays at the start of the week. Only Christmas Day and St. Stephen’s Day break the Monday pattern.

Monthly breakdown

January opens with New Year’s Day on the first, guaranteeing a long weekend. February brings St. Brigid’s Day on the fifth — a relatively short gap after New Year but appreciated for breaking the post-holiday January drag. March has the St. Patrick’s substitute on the 18th. April closes with Easter Monday on the first. May starts strong with May Day on the sixth.

Early May and June holidays

The May Day bank holiday lands on 6 May (Monday), creating back-to-back long weekends with Easter Monday in April. The June Bank Holiday follows on 3 June, and then the summer stretch extends to the August Bank Holiday on 5 August — the last Monday holiday until October.

The pattern means employees across most sectors benefit from predictable long weekends, though the summer gap between June and August tests patience for those seeking extended breaks.

The vast majority of Irish bank holidays happen on Monday (six out of the ten total).

— Personio HR Lexicon (HR Platform)

How many bank holidays did 2024 have?

The Ireland count of 10 compares differently depending on which UK nation you benchmark against. England has 8 bank holidays in 2024, Scotland has 9, and Northern Ireland has 10 — but the compositions differ.

Ireland vs UK comparison

The Bank of Ireland’s official banking holiday schedule highlights the cross-border differences. Ireland uniquely has St. Brigid’s Day (5 February) and St. Patrick’s Day, while the UK nations do not. England notably does not observe Good Friday as a bank holiday, whereas Ireland’s Easter break consists only of Easter Monday.

April to March fiscal year count

For employers tracking a fiscal or HR year running April 2024 to March 2025, the same 10 holidays apply within that window. The count does not change based on how an organization defines its administrative year — all 10 fall within the April–March span.

Cross-border employers should apply separate holiday calendars for ROI versus Northern Ireland and Great Britain operations to stay compliant with local regulations.

Bank holidays in 2024 near Dublin

The Republic of Ireland applies its bank holiday schedule uniformly across all counties, including Dublin and the surrounding region. There are no Dublin-specific observances or additional local holidays beyond the ten national dates.

Dublin-specific observances

Unlike some capital cities in Europe, Dublin does not receive supplementary municipal holidays. Employees working in Dublin — whether in financial services, tech, hospitality, or public sector — are covered by the same ten national bank holidays as colleagues in Cork, Galway, or Limerick.

Northern Ireland differences

Employers with operations extending into Northern Ireland need to apply a different schedule there. Northern Ireland excludes St. Brigid’s Day (5 February) and uses a different August Bank Holiday date. The Bank of Ireland’s published schedule explicitly notes that ROI closures differ from NI and GB banking holiday closures.

Multinational organizations should maintain distinct holiday calendars for each jurisdiction to avoid confusion during year-end close or payroll processing.

Confirmed and Unclear

Related reading: Ireland bank holidays · Northern Ireland bank holidays

Employers planning beyond this year can consult the Ireland public holidays 2025 which outlines a similar schedule of 10 holidays for the coming period.

Frequently asked questions