Ireland
Shops in Ireland may, with few exceptions (such as those involved in the sale of alcohol), open whenever they want, including Sundays and public holidays.
Here are typical hours:
Monday - Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:
- 8:00/9:00/10:00 - 17:00/18:00/19:00
Thursday:
- 8:00/9:00/10:00 - 20:00/21:00/22:00
Sunday:
- 9:00/10:00/11:00 - 17:00/18:00/19:00
Many supermarkets are open 24 h or have longer opening hours (like 8:00 - 22:00) everyday.
Large shopping centres and out-of-town (suburban) centres are typically open longer hours everyday (e.g. 09:00 - 21:00/22:00 weekdays, 09:00 - 19:00 Saturdays, 10:00 - 19:00 Sundays).
In the two weeks running up to Christmas, it is common for many shops to have extended opening hours; some may operate 24 h until midnight on Christmas Eve.
Most shops (other than petrol stations or convenience stores) in smaller towns and villages don't open at all on Sundays. Almost all shops (again, petrol stations, convenience stores, etc. excepted) are closed on Christmas Day, though most are open on all other holidays.
Convenience stores, petrol stations and some chemists (drugstores) are normally open from early morning (05:00/06:00/07:00) to the late night (22:00/23:00/00:00), or often 24 h, and New Year's Day is also Sunday hours.
In rural areas or in traditional trades, Wednesdays may be a half-day for businesses, closing at 12:30, but this practice has long passed in urban areas.
Alcohol is allowed to be sold only between 10:30 and 22:00 from Monday to Saturday and 12:30 to 22:00 on Sundays, but this does not affect opening hours (supermarkets will often block access to alcoholic products outside of these times). Alcohol cannot be sold at all on Good Friday.
Read more about this topic: Shopping Hours
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
“No people can more exactly interpret the inmost meaning of the present situation in Ireland than the American Negro. The scheme is simple. You knock a man down and then have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and then hang the corpse.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“Out of Ireland have we come,
Great hatred, little room
Maimed us at the start.
I carry from my mother’s womb
A fanatic’s heart.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“It is often said that in Ireland there is an excess of genius unsustained by talent; but there is talent in the tongues.”
—V.S. (Victor Sawdon)