Europe · Northern Europe · Sovereign state
Current time in Ireland
A single time zone at UTC+01:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
About Ireland's time
A single time zone.
Ireland uses a single time zone: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+00:00) in winter and Irish Standard Time (IST, UTC+01:00) in summer. Its clocks change on the same dates as the UK and the rest of the EU.
Next clock change
2026 Sunday · clocks fall back
Clocks fall back by one hour · next week.
Daylight saving schedule
Major cities
Cities of Ireland.
History
How Ireland keeps time.
Ireland's timezone history has been shaped by its relationship with the United Kingdom. Before 1916, Irish time was based on Dublin Mean Time, set according to the local solar time at Dunsink Observatory, which was about 25 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
The Time (Ireland) Act 1916 aligned Irish time with British time, adopting GMT during winter months and making Ireland part of the UK's daylight saving framework. This was partly motivated by practical needs during World War I to synchronize transportation and communications.
After independence in 1922, the Irish Free State kept GMT as its standard time and continued to move clocks forward one hour each summer, usually on the same dates as the UK. During the Second World War, Ireland stayed on UTC+01:00 continuously from February 1940 to October 1946.
In 1968, Ireland experimented with staying on GMT+1 year-round, but this was unpopular and reversed in 1971. The Standard Time (Amendment) Act 1971 established the current system: GMT+1 in summer (Irish Standard Time) and GMT in winter (Greenwich Mean Time). This brought Ireland back into line with the UK, and since 1996 both have changed clocks on the same dates as the rest of the EU.
Did you know?
Things about Ireland's time.
Ireland's timezone situation has a delightful irony: despite being called "Irish Standard Time," IST actually refers to Irish Summer Time (UTC+1), while winter time is simply GMT (UTC+0). The abbreviation IST can even cause confusion with Indian Standard Time, which also uses IST but is UTC+5:30.
The country's relatively northern latitude means significant variation in daylight hours throughout the year. Summer evenings can stay light until 10:30 PM in June, while winter darkness arrives as early as 4:00 PM. Despite being at a longitude that would naturally place it in UTC+0, Ireland's use of UTC+1 during summer helps maximize evening daylight.
The biannual clock changes follow the EU schedule, and like many EU countries, Ireland has debated ending the practice. The EU plan to end seasonal clock changes (proposed in 2018 and backed by the European Parliament in 2019) has never taken effect. Ireland has said it would consult with the UK (particularly Northern Ireland) before making any change, to avoid having different times on the island.
Convert
Ireland to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Ireland's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Why does Ireland use IST (UTC+1) in summer?
- Irish Standard Time (IST) at UTC+1 is Ireland's daylight saving time, observed from late March to late October. It was introduced to make better use of longer summer days, following the EU-wide daylight saving schedule. The name is deliberate: under the Standard Time Acts of 1968 and 1971, IST is Ireland's legal standard time, and winter GMT is legally a 'winter time' period.
- Is Irish Standard Time the same as UK time?
- Yes, for most practical purposes. Ireland and the UK both use GMT (UTC+0) in winter and advance by one hour in summer (Ireland calls it IST, the UK calls it BST). They follow the same schedule for changing clocks, so there's no time difference between Ireland and the UK at any point during the year.
- What's the time difference between Ireland and mainland Europe?
- Most of mainland Western Europe (France, Germany, etc.) is always 1 hour ahead of Ireland; Portugal keeps the same time as Ireland. During summer, when both regions are on daylight saving time, the difference remains consistent. This can catch people off guard when scheduling calls — what's 9 AM in Dublin is 10 AM in Paris or Berlin.
- Does Ireland observe daylight saving time?
- Yes, Ireland observes daylight saving time. Clocks go forward by 1 hour at 1:00 AM GMT on the last Sunday in March (switching to IST, UTC+1) and go back by 1 hour at 2:00 AM IST on the last Sunday in October (returning to GMT, UTC+0).
- Will Ireland stop changing clocks for daylight saving?
- The European Commission proposed abolishing mandatory daylight saving time changes in 2018 (the European Parliament backed it in 2019), allowing each member state to choose permanent summer or winter time. Ireland has been cautious about this, noting it would want to coordinate with the UK to avoid different timezones on the island of Ireland (between the Republic and Northern Ireland). No decision has been made to end clock changes.
- Is Irish Standard Time the same as Indian Standard Time?
- No, despite sharing the IST abbreviation, they're very different! Irish Standard Time is UTC+1, while Indian Standard Time is UTC+5:30. This can cause confusion in international communications, so it's often helpful to specify "Ireland" when referring to Irish Standard Time or use UTC offsets to avoid ambiguity.
- What was Dublin Mean Time?
- Before 1916, Ireland used Dublin Mean Time, which was based on the local solar time at Dunsink Observatory in Dublin. It was approximately 25 minutes and 21 seconds behind GMT. This was abolished during World War I when Ireland aligned with British GMT for practical reasons of coordination.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
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