Holidays

Holidays in Ireland

The public holidays of the Emerald Isle are, with the exception of the national holiday and the dates of Easter and Christmas given by the church year, with the so-called “Bank Holidays” a British invention. This designation for the nationally binding public holidays was first enshrined in the Bank Holiday Act in 1871.

Ireland maintains a very relaxed approach to bank holiday regulations. For the most part, only banks and government offices are closed, while in larger towns, shops open at lunchtime, just like on Sundays. The only exception is Christmas Day, when everything in the country really rests. If New Year’s Day or the Christmas holidays fall on the weekend, the next regular working day is free for it.

Overview

New Year’s Day – January 1

St. Patrick’s Day – on March 17

Easter Sunday – Sunday after the first full moon in the spring

Easter Monday – one day after Easter Sunday

May Bank Holiday or May Day – 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

1st Christmas Day (“Christmas Day”) – on December 25

2nd Christmas Day (“St. Stephen’s Day”) – on December 26

Worth knowing about selected holidays

St. Patrick’s Day

The national holiday dates back to Irish Bishop Patrick, first Christian missionary to the island and patron saint of all Irish. Every year this holiday is celebrated with upbeat folk festivals, people get together for quirky parades with friends and family. Many societies and clubs prepare their own floats for the parade, re-enacting historical scenes.

Traditionally, the colour green dominates, and everywhere is decorated with shamrocks. Even the beer has been dyed green. Because St. Patrick’s Day falls during Lent, the Irish are explicitly allowed a break from fasting – especially when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Easter

The most dramatic day of the Easter period is Good Friday, which in Ireland, unlike Northern Ireland, is not a public holiday at all. Banks and government offices are nevertheless closed. Alcohol may not be sold or served on Good Friday, which not infrequently leads to “hoarding purchases” on Maundy Thursday.

Many Easter customs are similar to those in Germany. One exception is the bizarre custom of symbolic herring burials held in some places on Easter Sunday. Herring is a typical Lenten food, and since Easter marks the end of the strict Lenten period, it is carried to the grave. Initiators of these rituals are not infrequently the local butchers.

New Year

New Year’s Eve is often celebrated in one of the Irish’s favourite places: the pub. New Year’s Eve fireworks as in Germany, where the individual banging belongs, there is no such thing on the island. In some larger cities, however, professional fireworks are organized to say goodbye to the old year.

It is customary, especially in the southern coastal towns, to dive into the Atlantic for a few swims on New Year’s morning. The “New Year’s Swim” is getting a lot of coverage in the local press right now, so it’s getting a lot of echoes. Otherwise, things tend to be quiet on January 1. Pubs and shops are usually closed or have very limited opening hours. Public transport also runs on a curtailed schedule.