"Real good weather" is on the way, with temperatures expected to hit around 25 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country next week, according to Met Éireann meteorologist Linda Hughes.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said high pressure from central Europe will pull in warmer air from the south and southeast towards Ireland.
There will be hazy sunshine over the weekend with highs of around 23C and "some parts around the west and northwest and along the south coast might see some cloudier skies and potentially some sea fog as well."
Ms Hughes said: "The best temperatures will be in the midlands and the east and then we will see temperatures really rising into early next week. That is where we will see the peak of the temperatures".
The first half of next week will be dry with widespread sunshine, with temperatures reaching up to 24C or 25C, or "maybe even a little bit higher", she added.
The highest temperatures will be in the south of the country while it will be a little bit cooler to the north.
Ms Hughes said there may potentially be good weather on Thursday also.
"Temperatures have been below normal for May. We've had a northerly wind a good bit of the time, so that has been keeping those temperatures down," she said.
Parts of Northern Ireland are also forecast to see temperatures reaching the mid-20s by next week as the UK is forecast to see its hottest May day on record over the weekend, with some areas set to be hotter than Barbados.
Heat health alerts have been issued for much of the Midlands, eastern England and the southeast ahead of a heatwave.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber heat health alert for the East Midlands, West Midlands, the east of England, London and the South East, meaning significant impacts are likely across health and care services.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 33C in southern England and the Midlands on Monday - higher than the UK's current May temperature record of 32.8C.
Highs of 28C are expected in parts of southeast England today before climbing above 30C across swathes of England and Wales over the following days.
Is a mini-heatwave really on the way?
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, Alan O'Reilly of Carlow Weather said many parts of Europe were below average temperatures for the last week or so but a change is on the way.
"We now have high pressure positioned to the west of us, which is going to draw up this very warm air coming up really from North Africa into Spain, into France and then we're just getting the outer edges of it but much of Europe is going to go from below average to above average temperatures."
He said that in mainland Europe, temperatures are already above 32C in parts of Spain and France but the mercury will climb even further.
"So you're looking at temperatures of up to 38 degrees possibly in parts of Spain, southern Portugal and in France and in Bilbao where we have some rugby matches that are concerning Ulster and Leinster.
"Temperatures there are very high with a yellow weather warning for high temperatures with temperatures up to 38 degrees today.
"Now obviously by the time the match is on this evening, things will have calmed down a little bit for Ulster, but Leinster tomorrow still looking at probably 30 degrees so that will make for challenging conditions."
Mr O'Reilly said the hot weather in those countries could last up until at least Wednesday but that could change the following day.
"It might ease off then a little bit from Thursday. A lot of uncertainty around the risk of showers on Thursday. It may well hold dry for many areas with temperatures just slowly dropping back, but a little bit hard to call for next weekend just yet."
Additional reporting PA
