These are the public holidays observed in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. Public holidays in Ireland (as in other countries) may commemorate a special day or other event, such as Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...

 or Christmas Day. On public holidays (sometimes also referred to as bank holiday

Bank Holiday

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...

s - a colloquialism), most businesses and schools close. Other services, for example, public transport, still operate but often with restricted schedules.

The 9 public holidays in Ireland each year are as follows:

Date	English Name	Irish Irish language Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...  Name	Notes
1 January	New Year's Day New Year The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....	Lá Caille or Lá Bliana Nua	Most also take time off work for New Year's Eve (Oíche Chinn Bliana).
17 March	Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...	Lá Fhéile Pádraig	National day.
Moveable Moveable feast In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...  Monday	Easter Monday Easter Monday Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...	Luan Cásca	The day after Easter Sunday (Domhnach Cásca) – also coincides with the commemoration of the Easter Rising Easter Rising The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War... . Good Friday Good Friday Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...  (Aoine an Chéasta) is not a public holiday, though all state schools and some businesses close.
Moveable Monday	Labour Day Labour Day Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...	Lá an Lucht Oibre	The first Monday in May. Sometimes called "May Day" (Lá Bealtaine). First observed in 1994.
Moveable Monday	June Holiday	Lá Saoire i mí Mheitheamh	The first Monday in June. Previously observed as Whit Monday Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....  until 1973.
Moveable Monday	August Holiday	Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa	The first Monday in August.
Moveable Monday	October Holiday	Lá Saoire i mí Dheireadh Fómhair	The last Monday in October. (Lá Saoire Oíche Shamhna). First observed in 1977.
25 December	Christmas Day Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...	Lá Nollag	Most start Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve (Oíche Nollag), including taking time off work.
26 December	St. Stephen's Day St. Stephen's Day St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which...	Lá Fhéile Stiofáin or Lá an Dreoilín	The day after Christmas celebrating the feast day of Saint Stephen Saint Stephen Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.... . Lá an Dreoilín translates as the Day of the Wren Wren The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera.... .

History

The United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Bank Holidays Act 1871

Bank Holidays Act 1871

The Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the first Bank Holidays in the United Kingdom.The Act designated four Bank Holidays in England, Wales and Ireland , and five in Scotland .In...

 established the first Bank holidays in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The Act designated four Bank holidays in Ireland: Easter Monday; Whit Monday

Whit Monday

Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....

; St. Stephen's Day and the first Monday in August. As Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

 and Christmas Day were traditional days of rest and Christian worship (as were Sundays), therefore it was felt unnecessary to include them in the Act as they were already recognised as common law holidays.

In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. This was due to the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 James O'Mara

James O'Mara

James O'Mara was an Irish bacon merchant and politician who became a nationalist leader and key member of the revolutionary First Dáil. As an MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, he introduced the bill which made Saint Patrick's Day a national holiday in Ireland in 1903...

.

In 1939, the Oireachtas

Oireachtas

The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

 passed the Holidays (Employees) Act 1939 which designated the public holidays as Christmas Day; St. Stephen's Day; St. Patrick's Day; Easter Monday; Whit Monday and the first Monday in August. The Holidays (Employees) Act 1973, replaced the Whit Monday holiday with the first Monday in June. New Year's Day was not listed in the Act but was added by Statutory Instrument

Statutory Instrument

A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...

 in 1974. The October Holiday was added in 1977. The first Monday in May (commonly known as May Day or Labour Day) was added in 1993 and first observed in 1994.

In 1997 the Oireachtas

Oireachtas

The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

 passed the Organisation of Working Time Act. This Act, amongst other things, transposed European Community directives on working times into Irish law. Schedule 2 of the Act specifies the nine public holidays to which employees in Ireland are entitled to receive time off work, time in-lieu or holiday pay depending on their terms of employment.

Primary schools

• In Ireland the academic year in primary schools lasts from 1 September to 30 June.
• The academic year is composed of 183 schooldays (with 6 in-service days this is reduced to 177) and schools are not open in July or August (though for flexibility school may open for the last two/three days of August).
• The first mid-term break is always the last week of October (commonly called the Halloween
  Halloween
  Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
  
   break).
• Many (though not all) Catholic schools close for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
  Feast of the Immaculate Conception
  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on 8 December, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on 8 September. It is the patronal feast day of the United States and the Republic of the...
  
   on 8 December.
• The Christmas break lasts from the last schoolday before 23 December to the first weekday after 6 January (17–21 days).
• The second mid-term break is a minimum of two days to a maximum of five days duration taken in the third week of February (commonly called the Shrove break).
• The Easter break consists of a week before Easter to the 2nd Monday after Easter (10 school days or 16 days inclusive).
• In the last term holidays are flexible and are generally arranged around the public holidays in May and June.

Secondary schools

• In Ireland the academic year in secondary school
  Secondary school
  Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
  
  s lasts from 1 September to 31 May.
• The academic year is composed of 167 schooldays and schools are not open in June, July or August (though for flexibility school may open for the first week of June or last two/three days of August).
• The first mid-term break begins on the last weekend before 31 October and lasts for one week.
• Many Catholic schools close for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December.
• The Christmas break lasts from the last schoolday before 23 December to the first weekday after 6 January (17–21 days).
• The second mid-term break begins on the last schoolday in the second week of February and lasts for one week.
• The Easter break consists of a week before Easter to the second Monday after Easter (10 school days or 16 days inclusive).
• The school year ends on the first Friday of June.
• The state examinations (the Junior
  Junior Certificate
  The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
  
   and Leaving Certificate
  Leaving Certificate
  The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
  
  examinations) begin the Wednesday after the June Holiday.

External links

• Public holidays in Ireland (Citizens Information website)