Flying flags on public holidays in Ireland

Ireland has ten public holidays a year, often called bank holidays. They are set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which also governs employees’ entitlements on those days. Three of them are flag days on which the National Flag flies from all State buildings, according to the guidelines of the Department of the Taoiseach; on the rest, flying the flag is a matter for each owner of a flagpole.

The public holidays

The dates are those listed by Citizens Information. Two flag days are not public holidays: Easter Sunday and the National Day of Commemoration on the Sunday closest to 11 July. All flag days are in the guide to flag days.

St Brigid’s Day

The newest public holiday marks St Brigid’s Day on 1 February. According to Citizens Information, the number of public holidays rose from nine to ten in 2022, and the holiday has been held since 2023. It falls on the first Monday in February, except when 1 February is a Friday; then the Friday itself is the public holiday. The guidelines name it as St Brigid’s Day/Imbolc (Public Holiday) among the days on which the flag flies from State buildings.

St Patrick’s Day

17 March is the National Holiday. It is the one public holiday on which the tricolour is seen almost everywhere: on State buildings, homes, shops and in parades in every town. The guidelines point out that yellow or gold instead of orange is a misrepresentation of the flag, and that slogans, logos or pictures on the flag are never used, also at festive occasions. Bunting in the national colours may be used on festive occasions, and where several National Flags fly, they are of uniform size.

Easter

Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are flag days in commemoration of the Rising of 1916. Only Easter Monday is a public holiday. Easter is the only public holiday that moves significantly from year to year: according to Citizens Information, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, so it falls between 22 March and 25 April. Good Friday is not a public holiday, although some schools and businesses close.

Bank holidays and Christmas

The four bank holiday Mondays in May, June, August and October, as well as New Year’s Day, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, are not flag days under the guidelines. Nothing prevents flags from flying on them, and the guidelines note that the National Flag is also flown at significant national and local events such as festivals and commemorations.

Hours on a holiday

On public holidays the usual hours apply: the flag is normally flown in the open from sunrise to sunset. The guidelines give fixed times, from 08:00 to 20:00 in the summer months and from 08:30 to 15:30 in December and January. After dark, the flag may stay up if it is properly illuminated, as described in the guide to flag lighting.

When a holiday falls on a weekend

A public holiday stays on its date even when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. According to Citizens Information, employees are still entitled to benefit for the public holiday, but there is no automatic legal right to have the next working day off. St Patrick’s Day, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day can fall on a weekend; St Brigid’s Day, Easter Monday and the bank holidays always fall on a Monday or, for St Brigid’s Day, sometimes a Friday.