Sun shining for bank holiday weekend with highs of 21 degrees

Ireland is set for a warm and sunny bank holiday weekend with temperatures reaching 21 degrees on Monday.

The welcome good weather is set to last until Tuesday where it will give away to more blustery conditions.

The sunshine is to be largely nationwide. The best temperatures will be in the midlands and the east on Monday.

Today will see a “mix of good sunny spells and cloudy, misty periods”, according to Met Éireann. There will be top temperatures of 17 to 21 degrees.

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It will be mostly dry on Sunday with some cloud, but there will be “some good sunny spells at times too”. There will be top temperatures of 18 to 21 degrees.

Met Éireann said it will be “still rather warm” on Monday, but turning cooler, fresher and more changeable from Tuesday. By early afternoon, “most places should have good sunny spells”. Top afternoon temperatures will range from 16 to 20 degrees.

The bank holiday weekend will be one of the busiest of the year for both indoor and outdoor events.

The Shine a Light on Summer Festival takes place over the weekend at five lighthouses – Fanad Head in Donegal; Hook, the world's oldest working lighthouse in Wexford; Loop Head; and on the islands of Rathlin in Co Antrim and Valentia in Co Kerry.

The May the Fourth Festival which has a Star Wars theme takes place around the Skellig Experience visitor centre in Co Kerry over the weekend.

The people of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will have their day in the sun on Monday.

There have been previous Baltic Days in Ireland with 5,000 turning out for the event in Merrion Square last year, but this year is likely to be the biggest to date as all three countries are celebrating their centenaries. They declared independence separately in 1918 from the Russian Empire.

Nearly 60,000 immigrants from the three countries live in Ireland. According to the 2016 census, the largest number are from Lithuania (36,552), followed by Latvia (19,933) and Estonia (2,500).

Folk dancing

There will be traditional folk dancing and music from all three countries with a “taste of the Baltics” food market.

Estonian embassy official Athi Raidal said the three countries are distinct, but share a common heritage and geographical proximity. “We all have a huge unpredictable enemy who we are not talking about, but we all know who he [Vladimir Putin] is,” he joked.

Events take place between 12 noon and 5pm at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar.

The biggest events of the bank holiday weekend will be the Ed Sheeran concerts in Cork's Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday and Sunday night.

The first took place in balmy conditions on Friday night. A total of 120,000 fans will attend over the three days.

There will be extra trains over the weekend to facilitate fans making their way home from the concert.

It is predicted to be fine for the Great Limerick Run on Sunday. About 14,200 participants are expected to take part in the three races.

Train disruption

There will be widespread disruption on Dart and train services north of Connolly Station over the bank holiday weekend to facilitate engineering works.

There will be no Dart services between Connolly and Howth/Malahide on Saturday and Sunday. On northern commuter routes, bus transfers will operate between Connolly and Malahide, with trains between Malahide and Drogheda/Dundalk running to a revised schedule.

On the Belfast Enterprise train, bus transfers will operate between Connolly and Drogheda, with trains continuing to operate between Drogheda and Belfast.

Irish Water Safety has issued a bank holiday appeal to the public to always wear a lifejacket when boating and to ensure that children are supervised while swimming. Despite the early summer weather, Irish Water Safety has warned that sea temperatures, at an average of 9 degrees, are still too cold for an extended swim.