Irish flag days 2026 and 2027

Ireland has no flag law and no list of flag days in legislation. The days on which the tricolour is flown come from section 5 of the guidelines “The National Flag” published by the Department of the Taoiseach, most recently updated in September 2025. The guidelines describe what the State does; they have no statutory force, and following them is a matter for each person.

According to the guidelines, the National Flag is flown daily at all military posts and at a limited number of State buildings; the guidelines illustrate the flag at Government Buildings on Upper Merrion Street and at Áras an Uachtaráin in the Phoenix Park. On five further days it is flown from all State buildings throughout the country that are equipped with flagpoles, and many private individuals and businesses also fly it.

The flag days

The guidelines add that the flag is flown at other significant national and local events, such as festivals and commemorations.

All dates for 2026 and 2027

The table shows every flag day with its date. The dates follow the rules in the guidelines; the St Brigid’s Day and Easter Monday public holidays follow the dates listed by Citizens Information.

St Brigid’s Day

St Brigid’s Day falls on 1 February, the old festival of Imbolc. Since 2023 there has been a public holiday for it: the first Monday in February, or Friday 1 February when the date falls on a Friday. The guidelines name the day as St Brigid’s Day/Imbolc (Public Holiday), and the table shows the date of the public holiday: 2 February 2026 and 1 February 2027.

St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day on 17 March is the National Holiday, and for many people the day of the year when the tricolour appears on homes, shops and in parades at home and abroad. The guidelines point out that shades of yellow or gold instead of orange, which are sometimes seen at civilian functions, are a misrepresentation of the flag, and that slogans, logos or lettering on the flag are never used. More in the guide to flag flying rules.

Easter and the Rising of 1916

Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are flag days in commemoration of the Rising of 1916. The tricolour was flown over the General Post Office in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916, together with a green flag inscribed “Irish Republic”. Because Easter moves with the church calendar, the dates change every year: 5 and 6 April 2026 and 28 and 29 March 2027. Good Friday is not a public holiday. The story of the flag is told in the guide to the history of the flag and flagpole.

The National Day of Commemoration

The National Day of Commemoration honours all Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations and other international organisations in the service of peace. It falls on the Sunday closest to 11 July, the date of the Anglo-Irish Truce in 1921. In 2026 the national ceremony was held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin on 12 July, with local ceremonies in Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford.

Weekends, holidays and night

The flag days on a Sunday fall on days when many State buildings are closed; the guidelines make no exception for them. According to the guidelines, the flag is normally flown in the open from sunrise to sunset, unless it is properly illuminated at night. How the flag is flown on public holidays is covered in the guide to flags on public holidays, and occasions of mourning in the guides to half-mast and flags in mourning.