Inevitably, it being a bank holiday weekend, the weather is set to deteriorate. According to the Met Office, the comparatively balmy conditions of recent weeks will be replaced today by cooler temperatures and some rain. Tomorrow and Monday should be better with the possibility of sunshine in the south and south-east. But the rest of the country can expect cloud. Maximum temperatures should be about 18 or 19 degrees Celsius tomorrow and Monday.
And then there's the traffic. "Leave (wherever you are) in plenty of time and expect delays" is the advice of AA Roadwatch for anyone planning to take to the roads over the long weekend. Tailbacks are inevitable as special events take place all over the country. The AA is also urging road users to be extra vigilant and think of safety first as they travel.
"Many of us will be driving long distances that we are not accustomed to. The best advice is to take it easy, respect speed limits, and do not try to make up time lost in the tailbacks by speeding on the open road," said Ms Emma Caulfield of AA Roadwatch.
All roads to Kilkenny will be heavy with traffic for "The Cat Laughs Festival" which continues until Monday. The Leixlip Salmon Festival and the Carrick-on-Shannon Community and Arts Festival, also take place this weekend and will mean delays on the N4.
In Dublin, Iarnrod Eireann has extra DART services in operation for Ireland's World Cup qualifier in Lansdowne Road against Portugal this afternoon, but traffic disruption is still expected.
The Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin starts at 3 p.m. on Monday and is expected to cause most disruption in citycentre areas between 2.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.. Parking restrictions will be in place from 6 a.m. on Monday.
Motorists travelling to Dublin from the N/M7 route are warned that Davitt Road along the canal is closed to all inbound traffic. As this is the main access to the city from the Naas Road, traffic on the N7 should use the M50 and take the Lucan Road. Traffic already on the Naas Road should divert at Longmile Road into the city.
Iarnrod Eireann expects to carry up to 200,000 passengers over the weekend, and has put on an extra 20 Intercity trains. Some of these have been laid on for the GAA championship matches in Cork and Dublin tomorrow.
Normal Sunday rail services will be in operation tomorrow and Monday on Northern, suburban, and DART lines.
Monday's 11.17 p.m. train from Connolly to Drogheda has been cancelled and there will be no suburban trains operating between Dublin/Arklow, Dublin/Kildare or Dublin/Maynooth tomorrow or Monday. There will be an extra train on Monday at 9.05 a.m. from Dundalk to Connolly and at 6.45 p.m. from Connolly to Dundalk.
Meanwhile, Aer Rianta expects 350,000 passengers to pass through Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports between yesterday and Monday. This is a 4 per cent increase on last year.
Spring sunshine totals were the highest for between 11 and 19 years generally and for more than 30 years in Kilkenny and Cork Airport, according to Met Eireann.