Temperatures soar as Bloom attracts record visitors

Soaring temperatures this weekend may have helped the Bloom festival in Phoenix Park which has attracted a record 110,000 visitors, according to the organisers.

The numbers surpassed the 90,000 who turned up in 2011 and are more than twice the number who turned up to the first Bloom festival in 2007.

An estimated 30,000 people turned up on Sunday, a one day record for the festival. The benign weather of the last five days boosted visitor numbers especially today where temperatures reached 19 degrees in the Phoenix Park.

Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said the success of Bloom this year showed that it was now a “well-established showcase for the talent, diversity and capability of the Irish food and horticulture sector and its capacity to contribute to economic recovery

Temperatures have soared this afternoon as many bank holiday events continue and motorists begin their return journeys home.

Many parts of the State are enjoying warm weather with 19 degree temperatures recorded by Met Eireann at Newport, Co Mayo and Phoenix Park, Shannon Airport as of 3pm today and 18 degrees at Belmullet Mayo, Dublin Airport and Mace Head in Galway .

The good weather is set to continue with Met Éireann forecasting a warmer day tomorrow with highest temperatures of 17 to 22 degrees.

The Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon got underway in Dublin at 2pm with some 40,000 people taking part in the 10km event. It was won by Siobhan O’Doherty, from Tipperary, who ran it in about 34 minutes. Traffic restrictions have lifted following the event . There are delays expected in the vicinity of Phoenix Park due to the final day of Bloom which finished at 6pm.

Traffic has cleared Cork as the city’s marathon has finished and restructions removed but some closures remain in place. Earlier thousands took part in the event which kicked off on Patrick Street at 9am and was won by Polish runner Bartosz Mazerski.

As people make their way home after the bank holiday weekend, Gardai have urged motorists to take extra care.

On the M9 Dublin to Carlow Road southbound an overturned tractor and slurry tankbeen cleared and the road surface has been treated. However AA Roadwatch has urged motorists to take care in the area.

Also this weekend saw a new world record created in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, for the most amount of people taking part in Rock the Boat.

Some 1,715 volunteers took part in the record breaking attempt far surpassing the previous record of 1,435 people. The record attempt was one of the highlights of the Carrick 400 festival to celebrate the town’s 400th anniversary which occurs this year. The festivities continued last night with a fireworks display over the River Shannon.