{"id":204624,"date":"2025-12-22T05:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/204624\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T05:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:25:10","slug":"major-change-to-bank-holidays-in-ireland-in-2026-as-first-one-is-just-days-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/204624\/","title":{"rendered":"Major change to Bank Holidays in Ireland in 2026 as first one is just days away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland is set to observe the same number of Bank Holidays in 2026 as it did in 2025 but there is one major change\"RedThere’s a major change to how Bank Holidays are observed in Ireland in 2026. (Image: baona via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

As 2026 edges ever closer many of us will will be thinking about how best to plan our annual leave around Bank Holidays.<\/p>\n

Ireland <\/a>is set to observe the same number of Bank Holidays in 2026 as it did in 2025 but there is one major change.<\/p>\n

St. Stephen’s Day<\/a> always falls on December 26 but in 2026 it falls on a Saturday which means the actual Bank Holiday will be observed as a ‘substitute day’ on Monday December 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

In total, Ireland will observe 10 Bank Holidays in 2026. Ireland <\/a>used to observe only nine but that changed in 2023 when Imbolc <\/a>(St. Brigid’s Day) was officially introduced as a Bank Holiday.<\/p>\n

Imbolc <\/a>(St. Brigid’s Day) falls on the first Monday of every February except when February 1 happens to fall on a Friday, in which case Friday February 1 will be a Bank Holiday.<\/p>\n

“In Ireland, the first of February marks the beginning of Spring and the celebration of L\u00e1 Fh\u00e9ile Br\u00edde, St Brigid\u2019s Day<\/a>,” said the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.<\/p>\n

“Like many of other feast days of the Irish calendar, Brigid predates Christianity \u2013 her roots lie in the Celtic festival of Imbolc, the feast of the goddess Brigid, celebrated at least five millennia ago. In old Irish, Imbolc means ‘in the belly’, a reference to lambing and the renewal Spring promises.<\/p>\n

“Brigid was a triple goddess \u2013 of healing, fire, and of poetry \u2013 and the saint who took her name, born in 450 AD, carried some of those same associations. The patron saint of poets and midwives, by legend, she maintained a sacred fire by the monastery she founded in Kildare. Alongside St Patrick and St Columcille, she is one of Ireland\u2019s three patron saints.”<\/p>\n

The department added: “Brigid\u2019s name can be translated as > the exalted one>. And, over recent years, her festival has come to be an exaltation of Irish women. From Washington to Warsaw, Sydney to Santiago, Ireland\u2019s diplomatic network, in partnership with local communities, host a series of festivals each February celebrating the remarkable contribution Irish women have made \u2013 and continue to make – across the world.”<\/p>\n

Bank Holidays in Ireland in 2026:New Year’s Day – Thursday January 1Imbolc (St. Brigid’s Day) – Monday February 2St. Patrick’s Day – Tuesday March 17Easter Monday – Monday April 6Early May Day Bank Holiday – Monday May 4June Bank Holiday – Monday June 1August Bank Holiday – Monday August 3October Bank Holiday – Monday October 26Christmas Day – Friday December 25St. Stephen’s Day – as it falls on a Saturday in 2026 the Bank Holiday will be observed as a ‘substitute day’ on Monday December 28.<\/p>\n

For more of the latest breaking news from the Irish Mirror check out our homepage by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland is set to observe the same number of Bank Holidays in 2026 as it did in 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16587,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-204624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-holidays","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}