Flash floods cause road closures, hazardous driving conditions and the cancellation of sporting and rural events.
Torrential rain has resulted in flash floods with Munster and Leinster being the worst affected regions of the country.
Met Éireann Meteorologist Jean Bryne explains the downpours were sparked off by,
A low pressure system to the south of the country that combined with reasonably warm air over Ireland.
The rainfall has reached almost record-breaking levels.
There were 56 mm of rainfall in Dublin Airport over the last 24 hours, now it hasn’t quite broken a record yet but it’s almost there, we’d 60 mm in August 1986, because of Hurricane Charlie.
Gardaí in Dublin have warned against unnecessary travel as conditions are hazardous. There were road closures in Counties Kildare, Laois and Limerick. Rail travel was also disrupted. A small landslide just south of Malahide in County Dublin blocked the line stopping services northbound to Drogheda, Dundalk and Belfast.
The crowd at Croke Park were also affected by the downpours with match goers warned that outside the stadium, Jones's Road had flooded. The soccer match between Shamrock Rovers and Sunderland scheduled to take place at Tolka Park was cancelled.
The Tullamore Agricultural Show which was expecting to attract 50,000 spectators was also called off. This is the second year in a row that the country's biggest one-day rural event has been forced to cancel due to adverse weather conditions.
Met Éireann say there is a continuing risk of heavy, thundery showers over the next few days so the prospect of further flooding cannot be ruled out.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 August 2008. The reporter is Ruth McAvinia.
