When do the clocks go back in Ireland? Date confirmed for end of daylight saving time

Ireland will soon see brighter mornings and darker evenings as daylight saving time ends and clocks return to standard time
When do the clocks go back in Ireland? Date confirmed for end of daylight saving time

Clocks are going back soon: Here’s when daylight saving time ends in Ireland. Picture: Larry Cummins

Clocks are set to go back by one hour next month, bringing the start of winter with darker evenings.

On October 25, daylight saving time (DST) will come to an end as clocks go back at 2am across Ireland.

They will not change again until March 28, when clocks will move forward by one hour at 1am.

The change comes a day earlier this year, as DST ended on October 26 last year.

What does this mean?

The end of DST means mornings will become brighter earlier, while afternoons will become shorter and evenings darker.

Clocks are moved forward and back in this manner to make the best use of available daylight throughout the seasons.

DST was first implemented in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada – formerly known as Port Arthur – before being adopted in 1916 across Germany, Austria and Hungary.

While its practice became more widespread throughout the 20th century, with the UK and the US implementing it in 1918, the concept had been proposed many years beforehand, in 1895.

DST was initially introduced as a measure to conserve fuel and energy during the First World War.

The future of DST 

While the European Parliament voted in favour of ending seasonal time changes in 2019, there has been no definitive progress towards abolishing the seasonal time change.

Additionally, the European Commission has said it does not plan to submit a new proposal to the European Parliament on such a move, meaning the future of DST appears to remain unchanged at present.

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