Sunny days are on their way after one of the coldest and dullest Aprils for decades, forecasters have said.
Temperatures are expected to hit as high as 22C (71.6F) next week in a mini “Irish heatwave” that will finally shake off the miserable spring.
Over the coming days, the mercury will inch up a degree or so every day.
The best days are expected to be next Monday and Tuesday before conditions settle into proper late spring warmth, said John Eagleton of Met Eireann.
“It is gradually going to get warmer over the next few days,” he said.
“The charts are showing us it will reach 21C (69.8F) and 22C (71.6F).
“It may not be as high in Dublin because the winds will be easterly, but certainly in the midlands and the west of the country, that is what we are forecasting.”
As Britain gears up for Mediterranean temperatures this weekend, the forecaster said Ireland will “get some of what they are getting” across the water.
“Maybe we are getting an Irish heatwave,” he joked. “The Italians would laugh at it, but we’ll take whatever we can get.”
He added: “It has been a late spring, but that is not unknown. This will make up for it now – there will be a real burst of growth.”
The brighter, warmer weather will delight sun-seekers and gardeners forced to take cover indoors over recent weeks.
Official figures just released by Met Eireann confirm parts of the country suffered their coldest and dullest April for decades.
Air temperatures sank as low as minus 3C (26.6F) in Sligo last month.
Dublin wrapped up against its coldest April in 27 years – with ground frost recorded in the capital on 23 days of the month.
The city also endured its dullest April since 1998, according to records from the weather station at Casement Aerodrome.