- St Patrick’s Day · England & Wales, ScotlandNot a bank holiday
- St Patrick’s Day · Northern IrelandWednesday 17 March 2027
Is St Patrick’s Day a bank holiday? In Northern Ireland it is, but not in England, Wales or Scotland. The next one is on Wednesday 17 March 2027. In the rest of the UK, 17 March is a normal working day.
Is St Patrick’s Day a bank holiday everywhere in the UK?
No. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 sets separate lists for each UK jurisdiction in Schedule 1. St Patrick’s Day appears only in paragraph 3, the list for Northern Ireland, as “17th March, if it be not a Sunday or, if it be a Sunday, 18th March”.
The lists for England and Wales (paragraph 1) and Scotland (paragraph 2) do not include it, and no 17 March appears for England and Wales or Scotland in the GOV.UK data from 2019 to 2028.
| Region | St Patrick’s Day 2027 |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | Bank holiday, Wednesday 17 March |
| England and Wales | Normal working day |
| Scotland | Normal working day |
What happens when 17 March falls on a weekend?
The Act deals only with a Sunday: the bank holiday moves to Monday 18 March. GOV.UK applied this twice in recent years, with substitute days on Monday 18 March 2019 and Monday 18 March 2024.
The Act has no Saturday rule: read on its own, a Saturday 17 March stays the bank holiday, and no weekday replaces it. Between 2019 and 2028, 17 March never falls on a Saturday, so the GOV.UK data has no example. The next Saturday is 17 March 2029, and GOV.UK has not published that year yet. For other holidays that fall on a Saturday, a royal proclamation has appointed the replacement weekday: in 2026, for example, Monday 28 December was appointed in place of Saturday 26 December. Treat any 2029 date for St Patrick’s Day as provisional until it is confirmed.
| Year | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Thu 17 Mar |
| 2023 | Fri 17 Mar |
| 2024 | Mon 18 Mar |
| 2025 | Mon 17 Mar |
| 2026 | Tue 17 Mar |
| 2027 | Wed 17 Mar |
| 2028 | Fri 17 Mar |
| 2029 | Mon 19 Mar |
| 2030 | Mon 18 Mar |
| 2031 | Mon 17 Mar |
| 2032 | Wed 17 Mar |
Source: GOV.UK bank holidays data (confirmed years), checked 4 November 2026. Later years are calculated from the usual rules and marked provisional.
Do you get St Patrick’s Day off in Northern Ireland?
That depends on your contract. GOV.UK states that bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer can include them in the statutory 5.6 weeks of annual leave.
In 2027 St Patrick’s Day is a Wednesday, so it does not create a long weekend. It does fall nine days before Good Friday (26 March), which in Northern Ireland puts three bank holidays into the second half of March 2027.
What about the Republic of Ireland?
The Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK, and its public holidays are not covered by this site. Everything on this page refers to Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland.
Sources: GOV.UK bank holidays data and Privy Council proclamations. Checked 4 November 2026.