Ireland set for weeks of fair weather, according to St Swithin

If the legend of St Swithin is to be believed, Ireland looks set for mostly fair weather until mid-August.

But don’t hold us to that.

According to folklore, the weather that dominates on July 15th will remain in place for the next 40 days and 40 nights.

Met Éireann said Wednesday will be mostly dry across the country with some light showers expected in the northwest and near the south coast.

Temperatures will range between 15 and 19 degrees.

Thursday will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain gradually spreading to all areas of the country by the afternoon, becoming heavy at times with Temperatures of up to 19 degrees.

By Friday wet weather will become persistent with heavy showers in west Munster, Connacht and Ulster with a break in showers for much of Leinster.

Overall, forecasters are predicting spells of fine, settled weather across the country for much of the remainder of July with plenty of fine, dry weather expected in the first half of August.

So what is St Swithin’s Day?

St Swithin was an Anglo-Saxon bishop who died in 862. He was made a saint over 100 years later and his remains were dug up and moved to a shrine in a cathedral in Winchester.

Legend has it this so outraged St Swithin he caused it to rain uninterrupted for 40 days and nights.

“St Swithin’s day if thou dost rain, for 40 days it will remain. St Swithin’s Day if thou be fair, for 40 days ‘twill rain nae mare.”

However, a spokesperson for Met Éireann said there was little evidence of 40 days continuous days rain since records began.

“We call it a wet day, a dry day or a sunny day. We don’t measure it in days and nights. It would be extremely rare for it to rain for that long without a break,” the spokesperson added.