📅 holiday

October Bank Holiday

Monday, October 26, 2026

— days to go

The October bank holiday is Ireland’s only Autumn holiday and falls on the last Monday of the month. It is also unofficially referred to as the halloween or Samhain bank holiday since the long weekend regularly falls on or adjacent to these festivals. In 2026, October Bank Holiday falls on Monday 26 October. The holiday will be on Monday 25 October in 2027. The October bank holiday was first marked in 1977 after the Irish government determined that the holiday would be welcomed to break up the long stretch of time between Summer and Christmas. The Minister of Labour of the time, Mr Michael O’Leary, was also responding to the need to bring Ireland more into line with the number of annual public holidays provided to workers in the European Economic Community (EEC, later to become the EU), which Ireland joined in 1973. According to a newspaper report at the time, “The Minister feels that there ought to be a public holiday between August and Christmas giving a long weekend. He also recognises the desirability of working people in Ireland being brought nearer the EEC norm as regards public holidays entitlements.” – Mayo News, 9 July 1977 The October bank holiday falls on or very near the Celtic festival of Samhain (31 October – 1 November) as well as the traditional Christian feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (1-2 November) each year. In fact, the last Monday in October falls exactly on the 31st day of the month every five, six or 10 years. The October long weekend has been unofficially connected to the themes of these festivals since its inception in 1977. Additionally, the secular holiday of Halloween falls every 31 October and also borrows themes from Samhain, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. A journalist for the Irish Examiner wrote: “Halloween with the introduction of a new bank holiday on Monday next has become a special time not only for youngsters but also for adults. In fact with the extra day, it enables families to get together and to enjoy themselves.” – Irish Examiner, 28 October 1977. The October bank holiday was not welcomed by all, with some segments of society questioning the wisdom of reducing Irelands economic output by a full day per year as the country struggled through recession and inflation. An editorial in the Cord Examiner opined, “It is not at all in the sense of being niggardly that we suggest that the latest public holiday granted by the Ministry of Labour, that on the Hallowe’en weekend, is ill advised […] Everybody rightly welcomes a little respite from the daily grind, but thinking people will realise what such a luxury is likely to cost, especially at the time of economic stringency, when efforts are being made to boost rather than curtail production.” – The Cork Examiner, 28 June 1977 The October bank holiday is the second most recent holiday to be created in Ireland, the most recent being May Day, which was first officially marked in 1994.

History

It is also unofficially referred to as the halloween or Samhain bank holiday since the long weekend regularly falls on or adjacent to these festivals. The October bank holiday was first marked in 1977 after the Irish government determined that the holiday would be welcomed to break up the long stretch of time between Summer and Christmas. ” – Mayo News, 9 July 1977 The October bank holiday falls on or very near the Celtic festival of Samhain (31 October – 1 November) as well as the traditional

How It's Celebrated

Other Years

2026 Mon

26 Oct

2027 Mon

25 Oct

2028 Mon

30 Oct

2025 Mon

27 Oct

2024 Mon

28 Oct

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🌍 observance Jan 11

National Tara

In 1200, s. Origin of Tara. The name Tara has historical roots in Ireland, originating from the Hill of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland

🌍 observance Jan 13

National Kathleen

A Name That Became a Nation. Kathleen's symbolic power in Ireland goes beyond ordinary naming. In the 1790s, Irish political songs began invoking "Kathleen Ni Houlihan" as a code name for Ireland herself, personified as an old woman who had lost her four green fields (the four provinces) to a foreign invader.In 1902,William Butler Yeatsand Lady Augusta Gregory staged the one-act play Cathleen Ní Houlihan at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. The play depicted a mysterious old woman calling young men to fight for Irish freedom during the 1798 rebellion. Its nationalist impact was so direct that Yeats later wrote: "Did that play of mine send out / Certain men the English shot

IEUS

🌍 observance Feb 1

National Sean Day

A Name Tied to National Identity. By the early twentieth century, Sean had become more than a common first name. It carried political weight. Dublin-born playwright. John Casey, who joined the Gaelic League around 1906, changed his name to Seán O'Casey as a public declaration of support for Irish cultural independence.He was not alone. Across the independence movement, adopting Irish-language names became an act of resistance against British cultural dominance.Other Seáns rose to prominence in Irish public life. Seán T. O'Kelly served as the second President of Ireland from 1945 to 1959, and Seán Mac. Bride won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 for his work on human rights and disarmament

📅 holiday Feb 10

Feast of St Paul's Shipwreck

The Feast of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck is a holiday unique to Malta because it was on Malta that the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked around the year A.D. 60. In 2027, Feast of St Paul's Shipwreck falls on Wednesday 10 February. The holiday will be on Thursday 10 February in 2028. The feast is kept on February 10th each year, and as Paul is the patron saint of Malta, it is a much-anticipated event. Out of dozens of “saint days” on the church calendar in Malta, the Feast of Saint Paul is one of only a handful that have the status of a national holiday. The account of Paul’s shipwreck and three-month, wintertime stay on Malta is found in the Bible’s Acts 27:27 through 28:11. He was being taken to Rome as a prisoner to eventually stand trial before Caesar. God let him know in advance he would be shipwrecked but would spare the lives of all on board, which promise was later kept and in answer to Paul’s prayers for their lives. The Bible says the storm was in the Adriatic Sea, though Malta borders the Ionian Sea, because in ancient times, the Adriatic’s boundaries were considered to extend much farther south. The ship broke up on the rocks near the shores of Malta, and all swam ashore. The local population greeted them, but thought he might be a murderer whom the “goddess of justice” had finally caught up with after he was bitten by a poisonous snake. After he lived, however, they supposed him to be, perhaps, a god. Paul, however, soon showed them it was God’s power at work in a mere man by healing the governor of the island, Publius, and many others who were sick or disabled among the island’s population. No doubt, Paul preached the Gospel to them as well, and when he left Malta, the inhabitants gave him all necessary supplies out of gratitude. The Feast of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck is kept at the “Parish Church of Saint Paul Shipwrecked” in Malta’s capital city of Valletta. It is also a day of processions and family get-togethers. Three things to do should you visit Malta, though hopefully not be shipwrecked there, on February 10th are: