Ireland lay close to the path of the eclipse of 12 August 2026: 94% of the Sun was covered in Dublin and almost 98% on the Dingle Peninsula. The eclipse of Monday 2 August 2027 is a quieter affair, a partial eclipse of 36% in Dublin at 9:56 a.m. Two more partial eclipses follow in 2028 and 2030. Totality itself last touched Ireland in 1724 and returns, briefly, to West Cork in 2090.

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August 2, 2027: partial solar eclipse

Local time. “Sun covered” is the share of the Sun's disc hidden at the best moment that is above the horizon.

January 26, 2028: partial solar eclipse

June 1, 2030: partial solar eclipse

August 12, 2026: partial solar eclipse (past)

12 August 2026: Nearly Total in the South-West

The Moon's shadow passed out over the Atlantic to the west of Ireland before swinging in to Spain, so the south-west of the island came closest. At 7:12 p.m. the Sun over Dingle was reduced to a hairline crescent with almost 98% of the disc hidden; Cork, Limerick and Galway had 96% and Dublin 94% at 7:10 p.m. The Sun stood about fifteen degrees up in the west, comfortably above the horizon and well placed along the Atlantic coast. Even at 98% it does not get dark: the remaining sliver is still thousands of times brighter than the full Moon, and it is only inside the path of totality that the corona and the stars appear.

2 August 2027: 36% in Dublin, 41% in Cork

This time the total eclipse is far to the south, over Gibraltar and North Africa, and Ireland is near the outer part of the shadow. In Dublin the Moon first touches the Sun at 9:03 a.m., the maximum comes at 9:56 a.m. with 36% covered, and it is over at 10:51 a.m. Cork does a little better with 41% at 9:53 a.m.; Limerick has 38% and Galway 36%. The Sun is about 35 degrees high in the east. A partial eclipse of this size cannot be sensed at all without looking, and looking requires certified eclipse glasses or a pinhole projection. The gaps between leaves do the same job, throwing small crescents on the ground under a tree.

2028 and 2030: Sunset and Sunrise

On 26 January 2028 the Sun sets over Ireland during a partial eclipse. It begins at about 3:32 p.m., and when the Sun reaches the horizon near 4:45 p.m. the Moon covers 47% of it in Dublin and 48% in Cork. An unobstructed view to the south-west, ideally over the sea, is the whole of the preparation. On Saturday 1 June 2030 the reverse happens in the morning: the Sun is not long up when 41% of it is covered in Dublin at 6:26 a.m., with much the same in Cork and Limerick. Neither is dramatic, but a low eclipsed Sun is the one kind that photographs well against a landscape.

Total Eclipses in Ireland: 1724 and 2090

No one alive has seen a total solar eclipse from Irish soil. The last was on 22 May 1724, when the shadow crossed the island in the evening and Limerick, Waterford and Wexford had nearly three minutes of totality. The eclipse of 11 August 1999 covered 91% of the Sun in Dublin and that of 20 March 2015 covered 92%; the 2026 eclipse beat both. The next totality is on 23 September 2090, when the edge of the shadow crosses the far south-west shortly before sunset: Skibbereen in West Cork has 1 minute 15 seconds. Dublin stays outside the path. For anyone who does not intend to wait, the practical answer is the south of Spain on 2 August 2027, where Cádiz has 2 minutes 53 seconds of totality in the middle of the morning.

Frequently asked

What time is the solar eclipse in Ireland on 2 August 2027?

In Dublin from 9:03 a.m. to 10:51 a.m., with the maximum at 9:56 a.m. In Cork the maximum is at 9:53 a.m.

How much of the Sun was covered in Ireland on 12 August 2026?

94% in Dublin, 96% in Cork, Galway and Limerick and almost 98% in Dingle, shortly after seven in the evening.

When will Ireland next see a total solar eclipse?

On 23 September 2090, and only in the far south-west, around Skibbereen and the West Cork coast, just before sunset.

Solar eclipses by country