Northern Ireland, United Kingdom bank holidays 2026

2026 at a glance

• Battle of the Boyne falls on Sunday 12 July and is observed on Monday 13 July; Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December and is observed on Monday 28 December.
• In 2026, public holidays fall on 10 weekdays in Northern Ireland, the same as in 2025.

Bank holidays in 2026

12 dates are counted as non-working in Northern Ireland in 2026; 10 of them fall on a weekday.

• observed substitute weekday off

Working days and hours by month

Working days are Monday to Friday minus the counted holidays. Hours are shown for a 7.5-hour and an 8-hour working day.

• Jan 21 working days in January, 1 holiday
• Feb 20 working days in February
• Mar 21 working days in March, 1 holiday
• Apr 20 working days in April, 2 holidays
• May 19 working days in May, 2 holidays
• Jun 22 working days in June
• Jul 22 working days in July, 2 holidays
• Aug 20 working days in August, 1 holiday
• Sep 22 working days in September
• Oct 22 working days in October
• Nov 21 working days in November
• Dec 21 working days in December, 3 holidays

Compare with the rest of United Kingdom

Long weekends in 2026

Runs of three or more days off in a row without taking leave.

• 4 days Friday 3 April 2026 to Monday 6 April 2026
• 3 days Saturday 2 May 2026 to Monday 4 May 2026
• 3 days Saturday 23 May 2026 to Monday 25 May 2026
• 3 days Saturday 11 July 2026 to Monday 13 July 2026
• 3 days Saturday 29 August 2026 to Monday 31 August 2026
• 4 days Friday 25 December 2026 to Monday 28 December 2026

Best days to take leave in 2026

The longest single break for each number of leave days, built around a public holiday.

Leave plans for the whole year

Non-overlapping breaks that give the most days off for a given number of leave days.

Try any budget from 1 to 30 days in the leave planner

Countdown

The days to the next holiday appear here when JavaScript is on.

The working days left this month and this year appear here when JavaScript is on.

Count working days between two dates

Calendar and data downloads

The subscription works in Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar. The CSV file also lists the days observed by some.

About bank holidays in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own list of bank holidays. In 2026 and 2027 the list has ten days each year: New Year's Day, St Patrick's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday, the spring bank holiday, the Battle of the Boyne (12 July), the summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The UK government publishes the confirmed dates on GOV.UK, and HolidayTally checks its own calculation against that list.

The main legal basis is the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. Schedule 1 of the Act lists 17 March, Easter Monday, the last Monday in May, the last Monday in August and 26 December as bank holidays in Northern Ireland. The other days on the GOV.UK list, including 12 July, New Year's Day and the early May bank holiday, are not in Schedule 1. Section 1(3) of the Act allows a special day to be appointed by proclamation, and section 1(5) allows the Secretary of State to exercise that power for Northern Ireland. NI Direct describes public holidays as days that have become holidays through custom and practice, such as Christmas Day.

When a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, NI Direct states that the substitute day is normally the following Monday. Schedule 1 sets specific rules: St Patrick's Day moves to 18 March when 17 March is a Sunday, and 27 December is a bank holiday in a year in which 25 or 26 December is a Sunday. In 2026, 12 July is a Sunday and Monday 13 July is the substitute day; Boxing Day is a Saturday and Monday 28 December is the substitute day. In 2027 Christmas Day is a Saturday and Boxing Day a Sunday, so Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December are substitute days.

Northern Ireland shares eight of its dates with England and Wales, including Easter Monday and the summer bank holiday on the last Monday in August. The two additional days, St Patrick's Day and 12 July, are not bank holidays elsewhere in the UK. Because of this, the working-day count can differ from the rest of the UK: in March 2027 Northern Ireland has 20 working days, one fewer than England and Wales, because St Patrick's Day falls on Wednesday 17 March.

Easter dates change every year: in 2027 Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. A one-off bank holiday can be added by proclamation for a special occasion; NI Direct notes that bank holiday dates can be changed or other holidays declared.

A bank holiday is not an automatic right to a day off. NI Direct states that there is no legal right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, and that any right to time off or extra pay for working on one depends on the employment contract.

Source and last check

Dates are calculated with the python-holidays library 0.108 and checked against the official sources below. Every date for 2026 matches the official gov.uk bank holidays data, checked on 15 November 2026. Last checked: 15 November 2026.

Sources

• https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
• https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/bank-holidays
• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/80/section/1
• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/80/schedule/1

How the counts are made