Spending over St. Patrick's weekend was 17% up on last year

Spending over the St. Patrick’s weekend was up 17% on last year according to new figures released by Revolut.

The fintech firm tracked spending activity amongst its 3 million Irish users over the weekend.

The data, based on card payments recorded by Revolut, compared the periods 15-17 March 2025 and 16-18 March 2024.

It showed that over €150m was spent by Irish customers across 6.8m transactions during this year’s celebrations.

Unsurprisingly, hospitality businesses such as bars, cafes, and restaurants saw the biggest spending jump over the weekend, with a near 10% rise in card payments.

This amounted to a 15.5% increase in the total spent at these venues compared with last year.

With St. Patrick’s Day itself falling on a Monday this year, Revolut actually saw a 6% dip in card payment activity this year in comparison to last year’s Sunday celebration.

Revolut suggests "that the lure of a Six Nations finale and a bank holiday Monday to recover led revellers towards splashing out the most over the Saturday and Sunday (15-16 March)."

Even still, over 7% more was spent with Revolut on St. Patrick’s Day compared to last year.

Sales of store-bought beer, wine, and liquor fell 9% compared with the volume of payments recorded across the 2024 weekend, indicating a preference for venturing out versus staying in among Irish consumers.

Spending on taxis supports this; Revolut saw an 8.5% rise in the volume of these transactions, with 16% more spent on cab fares versus the 2025 weekend.

The bank’s business customers also saw an increase in revenues over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Those in the "food, beverages or tobacco" industries saw a near 300% increase across the 2025 celebrations versus 2024, even when accounting for customer growth.

"The tail end of 2024 saw us surpass 3 million customers, so for us it’s now about giving people more and more reasons to choose Revolut as their primary bank account," said Malcolm Craig, General Manager at Revolut Bank - Ireland Branch.

"Registering nearly 7 million transactions in one long weekend is a firm indication that Irish people’s everyday spending happens with us, and that Revolut is the preferred way to manage money.”

*This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.