Bright, dry weather for Culture Night and rugby in Cardiff

Rain spreading from the West on Sunday as Kerry and Dublin meet in Croke Park football final

There's good news for arts and culture enthusiasts with dry weather expected this evening for the 2015 Culture Night as over 1,500 venues across Ireland open their doors for a night of celebration.

After last year's complete washout which drove thousands of attendees indoors for most of the night - this journalist spent a couple of hours cowering inside the Instituto Cervantes with a children's tango show for company - Met Éireann's forecast of dry weather, accompanied by some mist and fog overnight, is welcome news to the organisers of Friday's cultural extravaganza.

More than 3,000 free events will take place across Ireland tonight with 350,000 people expected to take part in the festivities.

The positive weather news continues across the Irish sea on Saturday with sunshine and temperatures of up to 18 degrees forecast in Cardiff as Ireland face Canada in their first Rugby World Cup game.

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BBC weather says any mist or fog will clear leading to a “fine” day with some sunny spells. The forecaster warns there is a risk of a light shower in the afternoon, but says most of the day will remain dry.

Saturday’s weather in Ireland is also expected to be dry and sunny with light winds becoming southerly during the day and increasing to moderate on coastal regions. Highest temperatures will be between 15 and 17 degrees with some areas reaching 18 degrees.

Saturday night will be dry in most parts of the country, though a band of rain will creep in from the Atlantic over western counties later in the night.

Showers will spread eastwards on Sunday, bringing rain across the country as the All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Kerry throws in at 3.30pm in Croke Park.

However, the rain is expected to clear from the West on Sunday afternoon bringing clear spells. Temperatures on Sunday will be around the mid teens with moderate southerly winds.

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak is an Irish Times reporter and cohost of the In the News podcast