Betting punters are backing this weekend to be the sunniest of the summer. And the odds are on Galway being the busiest city in the country, with the Arts Festival in full swing and the Galway races all set to begin on Monday.
More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the racing festival over the week. New transport arrangements are in place to accommodate the traffic. An underground pass off the dual carriageway on Monivea Road leads to a 10,000 space car-parking facility.
Met Eireann forecasters are enjoying a rare opportunity to use words like "very warm", "fine" and "sunny". Mr Vincent O'Shea said this would be the best weekend of the year so far, which was not too difficult to predict, as it had been pretty awful to date.
Everywhere will be dry and warm, especially inland, and temperatures will be around 26 degrees. There may be cloudy conditions in the north and north-west. It will be a bit cooler in coastal areas, with sea fog drifting on to some south coast beaches. The forecast looks good for the week ahead.
However, for those on the move, it may be less comfortable. The AA warns of heavy holiday traffic, likely to lead to congestion on main routes.
Iarnrod Eireann said it hoped rail services would return to normal by this morning.
Irish tourists travelling to Spanish resorts have been urged to be "vigilant" by the Department of Foreign Affairs after an upsurge in attacks against tourists by the Basque separatist group, ETA.
But the Department said there was "no case for advice against travel to Spanish tourist resorts, but we urge Irish tourists to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activities or objects to the Spanish police".
The Basque separatist group planted a massive car bomb at the airport this week - the gateway to the Costa del Sol. The bomb, about 130 pounds of dynamite, was discovered 15 minutes before an anonymous caller said it would detonate.
Bomb disposal experts worked for more than five hours to defuse the device, found inside a suitcase in a stolen car. There was severe congestion at the airport as the main terminal was evacuated, and roads leading out of the airport were closed.