Force Majeure Clauses

Written by Richard O'Shea, Solicitor TEP · Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981 · Last reviewed 21 August 2026

No clause, no excuse

Unlike some civil law systems, Irish law does not imply force majeure relief. Without a clause, a party prevented from performing by external events is thrown back on the doctrine of frustration — a narrow escape hatch that discharges the whole contract, applies only where performance has become impossible or radically different (not merely more expensive), and gives no half-way relief. The clause exists because frustration is almost never what commercial parties actually want.

Anatomy of the clause

• The event list — clauses are construed by what they name: war, natural disaster, "acts of God", epidemic, government action, strikes (whose?), supply chain failure. General sweep-up words take colour from the specific list, so missing categories genuinely matter
• The causation standard — "prevented" is a high bar; "hindered or delayed" is far more forgiving
• Carve-outs — payment obligations are almost always excluded from relief: force majeure rarely excuses not paying
• Notice and evidence — prompt written notice, often as a condition of relief
• Mitigation — the affected party must try to work around the event
• The long-stop — if the event continues beyond a stated period, either party may terminate; without this, a contract can hang suspended indefinitely

Using it in real life

When an event hits: read the clause before asserting it (wrongly declaring force majeure can itself be repudiation), give notice in the required form immediately, document your mitigation, and keep performing everything the event does not actually prevent. When drafting: match the event list to your actual supply chain and the causation standard to which side of the clause you expect to be on.