Public holidays in the Republic of Ireland: Difference between revisions

These are the '''[[public holiday]]s''' observed in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1973/en/act/pub/0025/gen_1.html|title=Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]. [[Attorney General of Ireland|Office of the Attorney General]]|accessdate=17 March 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220231603/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1973/en/act/pub/0025/gen_1.html|archivedate=20 February 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Public holidays in Ireland (as in other countries) may commemorate a special day or other event, such as [[Saint Patrick's Day]] or Christmas Day. On public holidays (sometimes also referred to as [[bank holiday]]s - a colloquialism), most businesses and schools close. Other services, for example, public transport, still operate but often with reduced schedules.

The [[United Kingdom]] [[Bank Holidays Act 1871]] established the first Bank holidays in [[Ireland]]. The Act designated four Bank holidays in Ireland: Easter Monday; [[Whit Monday]]; St. Stephen's Day and the first Monday in August. As [[Good Friday]] and Christmas Day were traditional days of rest and Christian worship (as were Sundays), therefore it was felt unnecessary to include them in the Act as they were already recognised as common law holidays.<ref name=TUC>{{cite web|url=http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bankholidays.pdf|title=Bank Holiday Fact File|date=22 May 2007|work=TUC press release|accessdate=17 March 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603185926/http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bankholidays.pdf|archivedate=3 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>