Easter Sunday in Ireland

Religious meaning and Irish traditions

For Christians, Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus. The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference describes it as the central feast of the Christian year, while Ireland’s National Museum records the place of Easter in the country’s traditional calendar.[3][5]

The National Museum’s account describes customs recorded in earlier Irish life, rather than practices followed by everyone today. People prepared for the feast during Holy Week, wore new clothes to church on Easter Sunday, decorated eggs and played games with them. The eggs laid up during Lent were eaten at breakfast, and families shared a meal of meat and dairy after abstaining from those foods during Lent.[3]

The museum also records regional and household customs, including giving each family member meat from a joint hung to dry or smoke during Lent, and sharing a spoonful of Easter holy water. These are documented traditions, not a checklist of customs that applies across Ireland today.[3]

The 1916 Rising and Easter Sunday

Easter has a particular historical association in Ireland because the 1916 Rising began on Easter Monday, not Easter Sunday. The government’s account says the leaders occupied Dublin’s General Post Office on 24 April 1916 and proclaimed an Irish Republic there.[4]

A state ceremony marking the Rising’s anniversary has taken place outside the GPO on Easter Sunday. The government’s account of the 2025 ceremony describes the reading of the 1916 Proclamation and a wreath-laying in remembrance of those who died. The event details can vary, so check official announcements before travelling to a commemoration.[2]

Public holiday status and practical planning

Ireland’s Organisation of Working Time Act lists Easter Monday among the public holidays; Easter Sunday is not on that list. The Workplace Relations Commission likewise names Easter Monday, rather than Easter Sunday, as a public holiday. Employees’ public-holiday benefit applies to the listed holiday, and an employer may provide it as a paid day off, a day off within a month, extra annual leave or extra pay. The law does not make the following Tuesday a day off when a public holiday falls on a Sunday.[1][2]

Easter Sunday is still a Sunday, so opening hours and transport arrangements depend on the individual business or service. Do not assume that shops, banks or public offices will follow their usual weekday schedule, or that trains will run to weekday times. Check directly with the place or operator before setting out; Irish Rail provides route timetables for checking train services.[6]