Labor Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, etc. are the old American three-day weekends that we all know and love. But in Ireland, no such importance is attached to some of those Mondays that most of us get off during seemingly random months. So, why are they called “Bank Holidays” and why do they happen when they do?

Originally centered around local traditions, certain rest-days or festivals would have been an excuse for the community to take a break and celebrate things like the harvest or a religious feast day. These would have occurred more frequently in the countryside, and prior to the 19th century before people moved from farms into the city for factory work. The modern, urbanised working mentality meant less opportunity for leisurely celebrations.

However, in 1871 (while Ireland was still under British rule), a banker-turned-politician by the name of Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act (hence, the term) which subsequently secured four holidays off for the people. These first “Bank Holidays” were: St. Stephen’s Day/Boxing Day (recognizing the day after Christmas), the first Monday in August, Easter Monday, and Whit Monday (recognizing Pentecost). A Monday recognising St. Patrick’s Day was added to the Act for Ireland in 1903.

Once Ireland became a free state, they passed their own Public Holidays Act and repealed all of the listed U.K. Acts related to these holidays. This Act gave the government full power to select the public holidays as they saw fit.

While the term “Bank Holiday” is still widely used, technically, those we recognize today that mostly everyone is entitled to have off are considered “Public Holidays.” One example of a day where banks and other businesses might close is Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday). Though certain institutions might be closed, is not a recognised Public Holiday (under the Public Holidays Act) whereby most workers are entitled to have it off (with pay).

The original public holidays remained after independence (with Whit Monday being altered to simply the first Monday in June), but additions were made and changes still occur to this day. There was even a once-off public holiday designated on September 14th , 2001 as a “National Day of Mourning” for the victims of the September 11th attacks in the U.S.

The most recent change to the regular public holiday calendar happened in 2022 with the introduction of the February holiday that recognises St. Brigid, one of the three Irish patron saints (February 1st ) as well as the Gaelic festival of Imbolc (marking the beginning of Spring).

Currently, Ireland has 10 public holidays. The EU average is 12. So, there might be some more coming our way!

Below is a list of all the current public holidays in Ireland, so you can plan something ahead for the day off:

• St Brigid’s Day (first Monday of every February except when February 1st falls on a Friday)
• St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
• Easter Monday (Monday after Easter Sunday)
• May Bank Holiday (first Monday in May)
• June Bank Holiday (first Monday in June)
• August Bank Holiday (first Monday in August)
• October Bank Holiday (last Monday in October)
• Christmas Day (December 25th)
• St Stephen’s Day (December 26th)
• New Year’s Day (January 1st)

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'