Farmers bringing in the harvest and building workers have enjoyed an unexpected bonus with the unusually dry weather over the last three weeks.
Mr Pat Clarke of Met Eireann said there had been very dry conditions over the month so far, with rainfall well below average for the first 20 days of September.
In comparison, this time last year was the start of a very wet autumn and winter with flooding, he said.
Although there had been sunshine, it was not exceptional for the time of year. It was only in the last seven days that the sunshine level was 1 1/2 times more than the average for September.
Temperatures were above normal for September, but on the other hand there had been some cold nights with the first frosts of the autumn.
"Although temperatures are up and there has been sunshine, the significant factor is the lack of rainfall," he said.
He said that normally, for instance, from the 30-year mean, Cork Airport would have 100 millimetres, or four inches, of rain over the month. So far it had only had 3.2 millimetres.
All over the country, there were similar statistics. At Shannon Airport there had been 16 millimetres of rain where normally there were 82 millimetres.
Malin Head recorded 46 millimetres of rain but the average there was 102 millimetres in September.