Record numbers of people are travelling in and out of Ireland this Christmas and for those staying at home the shops will open longer, some around the clock, in the build-up to the holiday.
With as many as 600,000 air passengers passing through Dublin, Cork and Shannon and 150,000 coming in and out by ferry, this year will be the busiest Christmas for travellers. Dublin Airport has reported a 13 per cent increase in traffic through the airport and Irish Ferries says that bigger capacity allowed for a 60 per cent rise in passengers.
There are boom times, too, for retail sales as Dublin retailers report increases of 7 to 10 per cent and shopping in the capital is expected to exceed £600 million over the Christmas period.
Late Christmas shoppers yesterday caused gridlock in Dublin city centre, with the AA saying the situation was "as bad as we've seen it for a long time". All shopping centre multi-storey car parks were full and motorists queued for hours to enter or exit. In one of the worst tailbacks at Mercer Street, where two car parks at St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and Royal College of Surgeons can accommodate 200 cars each, one motorist said it had taken him three hours in the afternoon to get from the fourth floor of the shopping centre car park to the exit.
Greasy road conditions added to delays all around the country with heavy traffic around Limerick and Galway while roadworks added to the serious tailbacks in Cork.
Stores are staying open later tonight all over the country and some supermarket branches will be open for 24 hours. Restaurants, shops, building societies and banks close on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day.
Those living outside Dublin who want to get out and about will have some entertainment as the pubs are open on St Stephen's Day, unlike the bars in the capital where only a few open for a short time.
Sports, too, will provide another break during the holiday. The third world charity GOAL will hold a race at UCD's Belfield campus at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day. Then there are the traditional Christmas Day swims, such as the plunge at the 40-foot in Sandycove.
On Stephen's Day, racing at Leopardstown starts at 12.25 p.m., at Limerick at 12.35 p.m. and Downroyal at 1 p.m. The Neville Cup hockey final is at Serpentine Avenue, Dublin, at 2 p.m. and national league soccer between Bohemians and Derry will kick off at Dalymount Park at 3.15 p.m.
For those travelling before Christmas, Iarnrod Eireann is putting on 50 special trains. On Christmas Eve normal last trains are cancelled. There will be no trains on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day, including the DART. Dublin Bus will stop running at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve and there will be no buses on Christmas Day. Bus Eireann will provide extra buses on all routes today and tomorrow and various services will finish early tomorrow. Special express-way services will operate on St Stephen's Day on certain routes.
There will be no financial facilities after 12.30 p.m. on Christmas Eve until the following Tuesday. Banks will close then and remain closed until December 30th.
Building societies will be open normal hours today but close on Christmas Eve until next Tuesday, Shoppers will be able to shop all through the night tonight at seven Dunnes Stores branches as well as four branches of Quinnsworth. Most supermarkets will open late tonight and be open tomorrow but all stores close on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day, most reopening on Saturday. Those hoping for a white Christmas will be disappointed. From now until Christmas Day, it will be grey, rainy and windy.