The 6pm Cliff: When Ireland’s Pharmacies Actually Close
We analysed opening hours data from 1,915 pharmacies across Ireland. The results show just how stark the evening drop-off is — and which counties have almost no cover after dark.
Ireland has 1,915 pharmacies. For most of the working day they are open; by early evening, the picture changes dramatically.
At 5pm on a weekday, around three-quarters of pharmacies are still trading. By 6pm — one hour later — that figure collapses to just 35.8%. More than two-thirds of the country’s pharmacies close at 6pm on the dot, Monday to Friday.
By 8pm, only 111 pharmacies remain open nationwide — around 5.8% of the total. After 9pm, that number falls to just 20.
Press hook: After 9pm, only 20pharmacies are open anywhere in Ireland. If you live more than an hour’s drive from Dublin, Cork, or Limerick, your evening options are effectively zero.
% of Irish pharmacies open — by time and day
Monday – Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Source: Pharmacy Times Ireland database · 2026
Saturday: a smaller cliff
Saturday tells a similar story, but shifted earlier. Two-thirds of pharmacies are open at lunchtime; by 6pm only 9.1% remain open. Saturday evening pharmacy access is worse than a weekday evening.
Sunday: the desert
Sunday cover is genuinely sparse. Even at 2pm, fewer than one-in-six pharmacies is open. In rural counties the figure is much worse. Roscommon has just 5% of its pharmacies open on Sundays; Leitrim and Cavan are similarly thin.
Lowest Sunday cover
| County | Open 2pm |
|---|---|
| Roscommon | 5%(1/20) |
| Leitrim | 7%(1/15) |
| Kerry | 8%(5/61) |
| Cavan | 9%(3/34) |
| Clare | 10%(4/42) |
Highest Sunday cover
| County | Open 2pm |
|---|---|
| Dublin | 25%(119/485) |
| Cork | 20%(43/215) |
| Limerick | 20%(18/92) |
| Waterford | 20%(10/49) |
| Louth | 19%(12/64) |
The county league table: evening cover
Dublin and Cork lead for weekday evening pharmacies — both have around 10% of their pharmacies open past 8pm. In absolute numbers, Dublin has 52 pharmacies open at 8pm; Cork has 23.
Nine counties have zero pharmacies open after 8pm on weekdays: Carlow, Cavan, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Wexford, Wicklow. If you need a pharmacy after 8pm in these counties, the nearest open option may be 30–60 minutes away.
Pharmacies open at 8pm on weekdays — by county
% of county total open after 8pm (Monday–Friday)
Source: Pharmacy Times Ireland database · 2026
The latest-closing pharmacies in Ireland
There are no 24-hour pharmacies in the Republic of Ireland. The latest any pharmacy stays open is midnight — Vista Pharmacy in Naas, Co. Kildare, which closes at 12am every day of the week. A small number close at 11pm; a cluster in Dublin and Cork close at 10pm.
Latest-closing pharmacies in Ireland
| Pharmacy | Location | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| Vista Pharmacy | Naas, Kildare | midnight |
| O'Sullivan's Pharmacy | Limerick | 11pm |
| McCabes Pharmacy | Coolock, Dublin | 10pm |
| Hickey's Pharmacy | Phibsboro, Dublin | 10pm |
| Leonard's Corner Pharmacy Limited | Dublin 8, Dublin | 10pm |
| Long Mile Road Pharmacy | Dublin 12, Dublin | 10pm |
| Careline Pharmacy | Waterford | 10pm |
| Boots | Blanchardstown, Dublin | 10pm |
| Corrigan's Pharmacy | Clontarf, Dublin | 10pm |
| Davidson Pharmacy | Limerick | 10pm |
| Late Night Allcare Pharmacy Wilton | Cork | 10pm |
| Allcare Late Night Pharmacy Douglas | Douglas, Cork | 10pm |
| Blackpool Late Night Pharmacy | Cork | 10pm |
| Limitless Health Pharmacy | Dublin 17, Dublin | 10pm |
| Clonakilty Pharmacy | Clonakilty, Cork | 10pm |
Need a pharmacy tonight?
Use our open pharmacy finder to see which pharmacies near you are still open right now. For out-of-hours emergencies, contact your GP’s out-of-hours service (GP Doc, SouthDoc, Caredoc, or your regional equivalent) or attend your nearest A&E.
Methodology
Opening hours data was extracted from the Pharmacy Times Ireland database, which aggregates opening hours from Google Places API for 1,915registered pharmacies in the Republic of Ireland. Hours are stored in Google’s periods format and queried directly against the Neon Postgres database. “Open at hour X” means a pharmacy has an opening period that starts at or before X and closes after X on that day of the week. Data was last updated on 12 June 2025; figures refresh automatically every 24 hours via ISR.
All figures exclude pharmacies flagged as non-public (e.g. prison or hospital pharmacies not accessible to the general public).
Notes for journalists
- Headline stat: After 9pm on a weekday, only 20 pharmacies are open anywhere in the Republic of Ireland.
- Regional angle: Nine counties — including Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Cavan, Mayo, and Monaghan — have zero pharmacies open after 8pm.
- Sunday: Co. Roscommon has just one pharmacy open on Sunday afternoons. Leitrim has one. Cavan has three.
- Latest closing: Vista Pharmacy in Naas, Co. Kildare closes at midnight every day — the latest of any pharmacy in Ireland. There are no 24-hour pharmacies.
- Data source: Pharmacy Times Ireland (pharmacytimes.ie) — opening hours from Google Places API, 1,915 registered pharmacies, June 2025.
- For interview requests or custom county-level data breakdowns, contact: analytics@pharmacytimes.ie