![\"Business](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_GettyImages-2187248447.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIreland has 10 bank holidays in total this year, and the next one to mark St Brigid’s Day is just around the corner.<\/p>\n
Ireland’s 2026 bank holiday dates have now been confirmed(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Ireland’s next bank holiday is just around the corner, giving many people a welcome day off work or school <\/a>in early February.<\/p>\n The full list of Ireland’s 2026 bank holidays has now been confirmed and it’s a handy guide for anyone planning trips<\/a>, family time or a well earned rest.<\/p>\n There are 10 public holidays in total this year, and most employees <\/a>are entitled to paid leave under the Organisation of Working Time Act. While schools and many businesses will close, services like public transport <\/a>continue to operate, often with reduced schedules.<\/p>\n So far, the only bank holiday to pass in 2026 was New Year’s Day<\/a>. The next comes on Monday, February 2, to mark St Brigid’s Day – a recently added public holiday celebrated on the first Monday of February each year.<\/p>\n After that, there will be a steady stream of breaks in March, April, May and June, followed by August and October<\/a>, before wrapping up with Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n One notable change for 2026 happens at the end of the year. St Stephen’s Day falls on a Saturday, which means most workers are entitled to a substitute benefit – essentially an extra day off – to compensate for it landing on a weekend.<\/p>\n According to Citizen’s Information: “If the public holiday falls on a day which is not a normal working day for that business (for example, on Saturday or Sunday), you are still entitled to benefit for that public holiday. However, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work.”<\/p>\n The Irish Government<\/a> has confirmed that employers must provide one of the following options:<\/p>\n a paid day off within a month of that dayan additional day of annual leavean additional day of pay<\/p>\n This change means many workers across Ireland will enjoy a bonus break over the festive season this year.<\/p>\n It will be even more noticeable in 2027, when both Christmas Day<\/a> and St Stephen’s Day fall on the weekend. In many cases, workers could receive two extra days off on December 27 and 28, effectively creating a four day long weekend straight after the Christmas break.<\/p>\n Full list of 2026 bank holidays<\/p>\n Thursday, January 1 – New Year’s DayMonday, February 2 – St Brigid’s DayTuesday, March 17 – St Patrick’s DayMonday, April 6 – Easter <\/a>MondayMonday, May 4 – May Bank HolidayMonday, June 1 – June Bank HolidayMonday, August 3 – August Bank Holiday<\/a>Monday, October 26 – October Bank HolidayFriday, December 25 – Christmas DaySaturday, December 26 – St Stephen’s Day<\/p>\n