Clocks Go Back Tonight, Making the Bank Holiday Weekend an Hour Longer

The clocks go back one hour tonight, with Ireland returning to winter time at 2am on Sunday, 25 October 2026. With Monday a bank holiday, the long weekend just got that bit longer, though darker evenings are now firmly on the way.

At 2am, clocks turn back to 1am, handing everyone an extra hour. Anyone still out and about at that hour gets to enjoy 1am twice, while those working through the night may find their shift runs an hour longer.

Smartphones, computers and most internet-connected devices will update themselves overnight. The oven, microwave, car dashboard and the trusty kitchen wall clock will all need changing by hand, so a quick lap of the house is no harm. Strictly speaking, the change happens at 2am rather than midnight, but nobody will hold it against you if you sort the clocks before bed.

The change is most noticeable at either end of the day. In Cork, sunrise on Saturday, 24 October was shortly after 8.10am, with sunset due at around 6.20pm. On Sunday, with the clocks back, the sun rises at around 7.15am and sets at around 5.20pm.

From there, the evenings keep drawing in until mid-December, when sunset in Cork bottoms out shortly after 4.20pm. The shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, follows on Monday, 21 December.

The bigger adjustment comes on the roads. As Monday, 26 October is the October bank holiday, many people won’t face the darker commute until Tuesday, 27 October, when plenty will be heading home in dusk or darkness for the first time in months.

Motorists should take extra care around pedestrians and cyclists, particularly on unlit rural roads and in busy town centres. Walkers and runners, from the Marina to the Lee Fields, can help by wearing something bright or reflective, and working front and rear lights are a must on any bike. It is also a good weekend to check that all your car’s headlights and tail lights are working.

With Halloween falling next Saturday, 31 October, the darker evenings arrive just in time for trick-or-treaters. A torch, a glow stick or a strip of reflective tape makes a dark costume far easier for drivers to spot.

Small children and pets pay no attention to the clocks, of course. Expect early risers to treat 6am as the new 7am for a few days, and the dog to wonder why breakfast is suddenly an hour late. Moving bedtimes and mealtimes by 10 to 15 minutes over a few days can help everyone settle.

There’s a quirk in Irish law here, too. Under the Standard Time Act 1968, Ireland’s official standard time is one hour ahead of Greenwich, the time we keep in summer. The winter months on Greenwich Mean Time exist thanks to a 1971 amendment, which created what it calls “a period of winter time”. So, strictly speaking, Ireland isn’t returning to standard time tonight; it’s leaving it.

The twice-yearly ritual has been on borrowed time for years without ever quite running out. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end seasonal clock changes, but EU member states have yet to agree on a common approach. Spain has pushed to revive the plan, but with no agreement on whether Europe would stick with permanent summer or permanent winter time, the clocks keep changing for now.

Ireland has had its own reservations. In July 2019, the then Minister for Justice and Equality said Ireland would oppose the move, with the department citing strong public opposition to different time zones between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The UK, including Northern Ireland, changes its clocks at the same moment, so the whole island stays in step.

The clocks will go forward again at 1am on Sunday, 28 March 2027. Until then, enjoy the extra hour, and maybe spend a minute of it finally changing the clock in the car.