Don't forget! The clocks go back an hour tonight

IT’S THAT TIME of year again. 

In Ireland, the clocks sprang forward by an hour at 1am on the last Sunday of March, kicking off Daylight Saving Time.  

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In case you’ve forgotten, the clocks will now ‘fall back’ an hour later tonight, and Daylight Saving Time will end at 1am on Sunday.

That means that the evenings will get darker, but the early mornings will be a bit brighter for the time being. More importantly, it means that we’ll all get an extra hour in bed tonight.

While most smartphones and computers will make the change automatically, you may need to manually change any other clocks in your home (and don’t forget the one in your car, if you have one). 

Daylight Saving Time is due to begin again at 1am on Sunday, 28 March 2027. 

This will put the clocks forward an hour again and into GMT+1.

The twice-yearly practice of changing the clocks has been the subject of much debate.

In 2019, the European Union voted overwhelmingly to abolish the time changes. But progress has been stalled ever since as member states can’t agree on whether to adopt permanent summer or winter time.

As a result, Ireland and the rest of the EU continue to change their clocks twice each year.

Several Irish politicians have called for the system to end, including MEP Seán Kelly, who claimed that the system “has been proven to have negative effects on health and well-being”.

Lithuania, which will take over the rotating EU presidency from Ireland in 2027, has indicated that it will make the matter a priority. 

In July, the US House of Representatives voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The act must still pass the Senate before it can be signed into law by president Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Congress to approve the measure.