Eileen & Pat Glover, Lucan (540x720)
Pigs aren't quite flying yet but temperatures in Ireland these past few days are sky high and climbing higher with the possibility of hitting 90 degrees.
And as if times weren't strange enough, Dublin hurlers won the Leinster championship to match the county's footballers. The teams, famous for their sky blue uniforms, last accomplished this double in 1942. And it was not just hurlers and the weather that were making big headlines these past few days. Irish sports stars were turning up the heat on their rivals, most notably in France where golfer Graeme McDowell won the French open in Paris, his third title of the season. Down south in the Pyrenees, meanwhile, cyclist Dan Martin captured Sunday's stage in the Tour de France for the U.S. Garmin-Sharp team. As for the weather, the sunshine looks set to continue for a few days yet. Monday was the hottest day in Ireland since 2006 and even higher temperatures are expected by week's end.
Met Éireann confirmed a temperature of 28.7 degrees at Oakpark, County Carlow on Monday. That's 83.6 Fahrenheit. The weather has been good news for farmers, as well as those who simply want to soak up the sun and pretend for a few days that Ireland is Spain, or some other Mediterranean hotspot.
