There are two substitute Bank Holiday dates confirmed for 2026
Belfast City Hall stock image(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
Happy New Year from the whole team here at Belfast Live!
As New Year’s Day marks the first Bank Holiday of the year in Northern Ireland, you may be looking ahead and wondering when the next when falls.
The Government has confirmed the dates for all of the bank holidays in 2026, with many falling on different dates than this year.
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NI Direct says: “Bank holidays are holidays when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day. Public Holidays are holidays which have been observed through custom and practice, such as Christmas Day.
“You don’t have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.”
When the usual date of a Bank Holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the ‘substitute day’ is normally the following Monday – which occurs again in 2026.
Here is a full list of the bank holiday dates confirmed in NI for 2026:
- 1 January New Year’s Day
- 17 March St Patrick’s Day
- 3 April Good Friday
- 6 April Easter Monday
- 4 May Early May bank holiday
- 25 May Spring bank holiday
- 13 July Battle of the Boyne (substitute day)
- 31 August Summer bank holiday
- 25 December Christmas Day
- 28 December Boxing Day (substitute day)
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