National Ploughing Championships organisers are looking forward to "heatwave conditions" when the annual event kicks off tomorrow morning, adding that demand for tickets has risen due to the good weather.
National Ploughing Association Assistant Managing Director Anna Marie McHugh described the atmosphere on site in Ratheniska, Co Laois as "exciting and fantastic" and spoke about storing water for cooling-off purposes, which is something they have never had to do before.
"We are never sure of weather like we are now, we have had variations in the weather," she said.
"More often than not, there is going to be rain at some point during the ploughing, so we are really fortunate that it's shaping up to be what it is."
Speaking on RTÉ's Ray D’Arcy Show, she advised visitors to bring a picnic, water and sun cream and wear appropriate clothes and come prepared for warm weather.
She added that it is shaping up to be one of the best in the history of the event, as thousands of people were looking for tickets online.
"The line is crazy. Don't take a chance on coming to the gate, as if it sells out, you’ll be turned away," Ms McHugh said.
She added that the best rates for pricing are online.
Ms McHugh added that it could potentially be a record-breaking event in terms of the numbers of people coming, but safety is the priority.
Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather told the same programme that the good weather will be here for the week and will stay until at least Friday.
He said that most of the country will enjoy sunshine, but there will be a bit of a fog and coolness in the morning, in a light easterly breeze making it cooler on the east coast.
In terms of temperatures, he said that 21.5C had been reached already today, and it could get up to 22C this week.
