A respite from the deluge of rain which has battered the country for the last five days is likely to come as a relief for the organisers of major events this weekend.
Met Éireann says an average of an inch of rain has fallen in most locations across the country this week. Mullingar recorded over an inch (2.54cm) of rain in just one hour on Wednesday - a scenario described by weather forecasters as a "once in 50 year event".
The weekend is likely to see only isolated showers and temperatures of about normal for the time of year, a huge improvement on recent days, but the bad weather is expected to return next week.
The Baloonatics theatre company will start off the traditional Bloomsday celebrations by recreating Leopold Bloom's morning stroll at Eccles Street at 8am.
Hundreds of people are expected at the James Joyce Centre for the 21st century equivalent of "thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards and grilled mutton kidneys" made famous in Ulysses though the fare is more likely to be closer to a traditional Irish breakfast.
More exotic fare is likely to be on the menu at the Taste of Dublin festival in Iveagh Gardens. Organisers are hoping for a sell-out as 27,000 of the 30,000 tickets have been sold for the four-day event which includes live cookery demonstrations from celebrity chefs such as Jean-Christophe Novelli, Antony Worrall Thompson, Rachel Allen and Derry Clarke.
On Sunday the table will be turned as several restaurant critics will cook their own dishes for the Chapter One restaurant owner Kevin Thornton.
The big gig of the weekend at Malahide Castle is headlined by the Arctic Monkeys who play tonight and tomorrow night, supported by Supergrass, The Coral and Delorentos.
Dance music fans are flocking to the second annual Life Festival at Lough Cutra Castle in Gort, Co Galway.
The big sporting event of the weekend will be tomorrow's Bank of Ireland Leinster Championship replay between Dublin and Meath in Croke Park which is sure to be contested before a packed stadium.
The game is preceded by the Louth v Wexford tie.
The other big matches of the weekend see Tipperary and Limerick replay their Munster Hurling semi-final in Thurles this evening while, tomorrow, Cork play Waterford in the other semi-final, also in Thurles.
Roscommon face Sligo in the Connacht football semi-final in Hyde Park, Roscommon, while Tyrone and Donegal meet in the Ulster football semi-final in Clones.
