Origins of Bank Holidays
We all love our Bank Holidays and with the brighter evenings and the summer approaching, we have three days to look forward to in May, June and August. So we’ve decided to take a quick look at the history of how our Irish Bank holidays came about.
Until 1834, the Bank of England observed about 33 saints’ days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834 this was reduced to just four: 1 May (May Day), 1 November (All Saints’ Day), Good Friday and Christmas Day. In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871, which specified the days in the table below.
Dates of Bank Holidays & Public Holidays in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales
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Ireland |
England & Wales |
Scotland |
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New Year’s Day |
New Year’s Day |
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St. Brigid’s Day |
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Saint Patrick’s Day (17 March) |
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Easter Monday |
Easter Monday |
Good Friday |
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First Monday in May |
First Monday in May |
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First Monday in June |
Whit Monday (June) |
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First Monday in August |
First Monday in August |
First Monday in August |
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Last Monday in October |
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Christmas Day |
Christmas Day |
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Saint Stephen’s Day |
Boxing Day/St Stephens Day |
Under the Act, no person was required to make any payment or to do any act upon a bank holiday which they would not be required to do on Christmas Day or Good Friday. At this time, Ireland was still under British Rule, so we also benefited from the official bank holidays. This was also a time when workers were not entitled to the current 20 minimum day’s paid annual leave, and for some, may have been the only days apart from the weekends when they got off work!
The act did not include Good Friday or Christmas Day as bank holidays as they were already recognised as common law holidays since before records began. In 1903, the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act added 17 March, Saint Patrick’s Day, as a bank holiday for Ireland only.
In 1939, the Oireachtas passed the Holidays (Employees) Act 1939 which designated the public holidays like 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 in 1974. The October Holiday (Halloween) was added in 1977. The first Monday in May (commonly known as May Day) was added in 1993 and first observed in 1994.
Bank Holidays in Ireland 2026
Here are the dates for Ireland’s ten public holidays in 2026:
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Thursday, 1st January – New Year’s Day
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Monday, 2nd February – St Brigid’s Day
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Tuesday, 17th March – Saint Patrick’s Day
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Monday, 6th April – Easter Monday
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Monday, 4th May – May Day (first Monday in May)
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Monday, 1st June – June Bank Holiday (first Monday in June)
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Monday, 3rd August – August Bank Holiday (first Monday in August)
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Monday, 26th October – October Bank Holiday (last Monday in October)
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Friday, 25th December – Christmas Day
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Friday, 26 December – St Stephen’s Day
Good Friday is a bit of a strange one, for some companies treat it as a National Holiday and others don’t, as it is not an official Bank Holiday. It is a Public Holiday in Northern Ireland only. In 2018, the prohibition of the sale of alcohol on Good Friday was lifted. Banks also close on Good Friday. (So does KennCo!) It falls on Friday April 15th 2022, this year.
St. Brigid’s Day
In 2022, the Irish government announced that from 2023 a new permanent annual bank holiday would be celebrated on February 1 to mark Lá Fhéile Bríde or St. Bridget’s Day.
St. Brigid’s Day is observed on the first Monday in February, except where St Brigid’s Day (1 February) happens to fall on a Friday, in which case that Friday 1 February will be a public holiday.
This bank holiday was put in place to recognise the efforts of the general public, volunteers and all workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in remembrance of people who lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Ireland, the first of February marks the start of spring and coincides with the Gaelic festival of Imbolc celebrating St. Brigid of Kildare, one of Ireland’s patron saints, and it is the first bank holiday in honour of a woman.
If you’re thinking of going away during the next bank holiday weekend, why not get a Travel Insurance quote today. KennCo Travel Insurance also includes cover for nights away in Ireland when one-nights accommodation is pre-booked. You can find all the Travel Insurance features/benefits here and get a Travel Insurance quote here now!