PERHAPS it was an act of God. It was an act of the sun for ye pagan folk. Such was the heat of its rays in Dublin early yesterday morning that it almost destroyed the State's priceless heritage.
Almost. "But our warning system worked," a relieved Dr Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, told The Irish Times. That and the alert response of a garda and a museum attendant ensured that a minor fire in a packing case did not turn into a conflagration.
The smoke was noticed in the gallery over the museum's rotunda in Kildare Street shortly before 8 a.m. It came from a packing case containing one 19th century glass scientific instrument and was quickly extinguished. The box was among a set of containers bearing such instruments, bound for the museum's new premises at Collins Barracks.
Gardai have already identified the "culprits", but no charges are expected to be pressed. One was a small magnifying glass, left on top of the container. The other is between 91 and 94 million miles away at present, depending on the Earth's elliptical orbit.
Dublin and the north east may be the best places to be today; however, colder, wetter conditions are fast approaching and most areas will experience a "transition" over the next 24 hours, in the diplomatic language of Met Eireann.
Yesterday was the warmest day of the month so far, with temperatures reaching 24 C in some parts, and an average of 22 C in the midlands and Munster. Next week is expected to be very unsettled, and grass growers can look forward to buckets of rain.
After a prolonged dry period, the wet spell last week actually elicited a "rousing cheer" in Fermoy mart, Co Cork, which has to be "something of a record for Ireland", Mr Jerry McCarthy, tillage specialist with Teagasc, said yesterday. It contributed to an "excellent recovery" by ailing crops.
Although traffic out of the State is expected to be up by 12 per cent on last year's May holiday weekend, those staying at home can be entertained by a busy sporting and music calendar, and that riveting annual television highlight, the Eurovision Song Contest.
Dublin Corporation has warned that traffic diversions and parking restrictions will be in place around the Point in Dublin until 1 a.m. today and all day until 1 a.m. tomorrow. Motorists are advised to avoid the area. Diversions will be in place around North Wall Quay, New Wapping Street, East Road, East Wall Road, Alfie Byrne Road and Annesley Bridge.
The FAI Senior Cup final between Derry City and Shelbourne takes place in Dalymount Park, Dublin, tomorrow while the National Football League final between Cork and Kerry takes place in Pairc Ui Cuiv in Cork city. Galway is hosting the Budweiser American Music Festival with Eleanor McEvoy, Chick Prophet and Mary Black, while Newbridge, Co Kildare, is staging its Bealtaine Arts Festival.
Bus Eireann expects to carry up to 100,000 passengers over the weekend. Normal weekday services operate today, while some services tomorrow geared to cater for weekend travellers will be cancelled. The Monday schedule will mirror the normal Sunday service, with some additional transport to cater for people returning to work.
Iarnrod Eireann expects to carry 120,000 passengers on Intercity trains, with over 30 special trains running in addition to the scheduled timetable. These include a special service for Kerry fans attending the Cork match tomorrow.
Last month was the warmest April on record at over half of Met Eireann's stations around the country. The warmest temperatures were recorded at Valentia Observatory, according to the service's monthly analysis. Mean air temperatures ranged from 8.8 C at Malin Head and Dublin Airport to 11.3 C at Shannon Airport.
While it was a month of drought, sunshine was below normal, except in the south. Most of the rain was recorded between April 24th and 28th, when stations received some 60 to 80 per cent of normal April rainfall totals. Shannon Airport was the sunniest place, with 13.2 hours on April 20th.
