While temperatures have reached almost 30 degrees in parts of the country on Tuesday, many Dubliners flocked to the beach to make the most of the sunny weather.Cody Hand took the day off from her work as a customer service agent when she heard the news of good weather to come. Her boyfriend, Brad Mulholland, finished up earlier in the day working in a butchers which is “busy for the barbecue season”.The 21-year-olds decided to make the most of the sun because “we don’t get enough of it” and the pair headed down to Dollymount Strand.Mort Bogman hadn’t planned to head to the beach, but after his tattoo apprenticeship was cancelled for the day, he decided to go “where the wind blows”.Mort Bogman from Glasnevin on Dollymount Strand. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
While more warmer days would be welcome, Bogman said he’d “definitely be sleeping worse” if hotter temperatures continued throughout the summer.Matt Toth was sitting down with his dog after a walk along the beach. He said the weather right now in Dublin was reminiscent of when he lived in Spain, working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.“It’s like Costa del Raheny,” he laughed.Toth isn’t that far off the mark either – the temperature in Barcelona ranged from 22 to 25 degrees on Tuesday.[ ‘Extreme event’: Here is what’s causing record-breaking temperatures in Ireland and EuropeOpens in new window ]Back home, Met Éireann issued a status yellow high temperature warning on Tuesday for Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois and Offaly.On Tuesday, Shannon Airport became the first place in Ireland to record a temperature of more than 30 degrees in May, beating the record for the hottest May temperature set in Co Carlow earlier in the same day at 29.7 degrees. Those highs beat Monday’s previous record of 28.6 degrees recorded at Shannon Airport, breaking the long-standing record of 28.4 degrees recorded in Kerry in 1997.While walking his dog and taking in the view, Toth met Jurate Ferreira who returned to the beach to find a toy her daughter had lost the previous day.[ High temperature record for May broken twice in same dayOpens in new window ]Luckily enough, she found it and stayed for a couple of hours to spend her time sunbathing, before picking her daughter up from school. Disagreeing with Toth, Ferreira, originally from Brazil, hopes the nice weather stays for as long as it can. Toth remarked that he would move away from Ireland if the warm weather stayed for too long.“I’d go northern, to Norway or Finland. No, it’s not for me,” he said.Matt Toth from Hungary and Jurate Ferreira from Brazil. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Lisa Keane, like Ferreira, hopes for the weather to stay hot but knows that rain and drizzle may soon return.“Make the most of the weather while it’s here,” she said.Keane, a nurse in St James’ hospital, brought her daughter, Aria, to the beach after she completed one of her summer exams. The pair “love a picnic” and set up for a bit of lunch before heading home so Aria can prepare for her next exam. Lisa Keane and her daughter Aria Keane enjoying the sunny weather on Dollymount Strand. Photo: Bryan O’Brien Unfortunately for those with hopes for the weather to stay, patches of drizzle are expected to end this sunny spell on Thursday, with a long weekend of unsettled conditions to follow.Yvonne Martin (left) and her daughter Sara Codrea from Killester. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Sara Codrea, a social care student who recently finished her exams, pointed to a theory from her studies that very high temperatures can actually make people more aggressive, but her mother, Yvonne Martin, emphasised that Ireland hasn’t reached “extreme” just yet and they both laughed it off.Compared to her experience as a nurse in an Australian hospital without air conditioning in the 1990s, Martin said she loves the Irish weather and won’t miss the heat too much.“I used to look out at the blue sky and say ‘oh God, not another’,” she said.“I think we have a lovely climate,” she said, while Codrea, on the other hand, thinks a few degrees higher would be better.
