Punters back as weather eases

IT was business as usual yesterday as the weather and the sporting programme got going after last week's freeze.

Punters starved of racing by the cold snap were back in action on Sunday and yesterday. Fairyhouse was the big event of New Year's Day, with meetings at Tramore and Down Royal as well, while on Sunday there was racing at Leopardstown and Limerick.

Britain did not fare so well, however. Just one of eight New Year's Day race meetings went ahead at Exeter, where the last two races were cancelled because of fog. Only premier division soccer matches went ahead unscathed - helped by under soil heated pitches.

The Met Service predicts mild weather continuing in Ireland for the next four or five days. Temperatures should be similar to yesterday's 8 to 11 Celsius - a far cry from the -11 reported at Clones in Co Monaghan last week. Mr Pat Clark of the Met Service says that it will be mild, windy at times, with spells of heavy rain.

Frost is unlikely because of the breeze but Mr Clark said that there will be gales on the Irish Sea and stronger winds on the west coast. It was possible but unlikely, that there could be further ferry disruptions on the Irish Sea.

He said the two ferries that docked 18 hours late at Holyhead at the weekend, with 1,300 passengers on board, were stranded off the Welsh coast by a combination of strong easterly gales and tidal difficulties.

The Isle of Innisfree and the Stena Hibernia had circled outside the port, waiting for the winds to drop. The two ferry companies are understood to be considering compensation for the passengers, but both stressed that passenger safety was paramount and the ferries could not dock safely in seven and eight force gales.

Air travel appeared a quicker option, despite several hours delay for a number of flights over the weekend, including charter flights to the sun and to the ski slopes.

Aer Rianta expected to have the largest ever passenger numbers, some 300.000, travelling through Dublin, Cork and Shannon for during the holiday period.