Most places can look forward to dry weather with some hazy sunshine for the holiday weekend, but some areas, especially along Atlantic coasts, will have cloudy spells with the possibility of light rain or drizzle, according to Met Eireann.
There will be moderate to fresh northerly winds, with temperatures of between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius, which is near normal for this time of year.
Road-users are urged to exercise extreme caution, as recent bank holiday weekends have seen a rise in fatal accidents. Mr John Guilfoyle, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, warned: "The message is simple. Trucks, vans, cars and motorcyclists must make greater efforts to drive safely if we are to prevent further injury or loss of life on Irish roads. This is all the more important over the bank holiday weekend, as the potential for accidents has been shown to be greater at such times with increased numbers of vehicles on the roads."
To celebrate the holiday weekend, the National Lottery is adding £1 million in a special double draw today.
Bus Eireann expects to carry 100,000 passengers on Expressway and provincial bus services throughout the State. Normal weekday services will operate today. Tomorrow normal Sunday services will operate, but a number of services, geared to cater for weekend travellers returning to major centres, will be cancelled. On Monday services generally will operate as on Sundays with some extra evening services.
Airlines and ferries also report heavy booking. Aer Lingus expects to carry some 100,000 passengers over the weekend. More than 36,000 will travel between Ireland and London Heathrow., an increase of 17 per cent on last year.
Dublin Corporation has published a list of roadworks to be carried out over the weekend which may cause delays. These include: pipe-laying at Castlewood Avenue, near the junction of Rathmines Road Upper and Castlewood Place and Park; at Church Avenue, off Beach Road; and at Dodder Bridge, Rathfarnham Road. Road maintenance work will be carried out today at Drumcondra Road, opposite Clonliffe Road, and Middle Abbey Street will be closed on Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to facilitate the dismantling of a crane.