There are currently 9 bank holidays in Ireland – but a new one could soon be added in 2022 .
St Brigid’s Day – (1 February) could be the date of Ireland’s 10th public holiday. It is being introduced
to thank frontline workers for their efforts during the Covid pandemic. However it will probably be a one-off event rather than an annual holiday .
A Bank Holiday is a day on which the banks are closed. BUT – not all bank holidays are Public Holidays.
The banks seem to have an extra day off after Christmas !
The next bank holiday in Ireland that is also a public holiday will be Christmas Day on Saturday, December 25th 2021 .
Bank Holidays in Ireland in 2021 and 2022
Unless stated otherwise – all the dates below are both Public and Bank Holidays in Ireland in 2021 and 2022
| Monday August 2nd 2021 – August Bank Holiday | |
| Monday, October 25th 2021 – October Bank Holiday | |
| Saturday 25th December 2021 – Christmas Day | |
| Sunday 26th December 2021 – St Stephens Day | |
| Monday 27th December 2021 | (Banks closed – not a Public Holiday) |
| Tuesday 28th December 2021 | (Banks closed – not a Public Holiday) |
| Wed 29th December 2021 | (Banks closed – not a Public Holiday) |
| Saturday, January 1st 2022 New Years Day | |
| Monday, January 3rd 2022 | (Banks closed – not a Public Holiday) |
| Possibly Monday 31st January 2022 (St Bridgids Day) | |
| Thursday, March 17th 2022 – St Patrick’s Day | |
| Monday, April 18th 2022 – Easter Monday | |
| Monday 2nd May 2022 – May Bank Holiday | |
| Monday, June 6th 2022 – June Bank Holiday | |
| Monday 1st August 2022 (Monday) | |
| Monday 31st October 2022 | |
| Sunday 25th December 2022 – Christmas Day | |
| Monday 26th December 2022- St Stephen’s Day | |
More details of Bank Opening and Closing Dates Christmas 2021
Public Holidays – Workers rights:
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, some people assume that the following Monday is treated as a public holiday. But this is not the case.
If a public holiday falls on a weekend, workers do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. When this happens – some employers might treat the following Monday as a public holiday but your employer can require you to attend work on that day.
If a public holiday falls on a day that is not a normal working day for a business (for example, on Saturday or Sunday), employees are still entitled to the benefit for that public holiday.
When this happens you are entitled to one of the following
- A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
- An additional day of annual leave
- An additional day’s pay