Weather

If you are asking specifically weather wise.. then obviously july and august. Its a green isle because it rains.. often. We visited in August and encountered some rainy cooler ( to us) days.. but luckily had one nice day so we could walk the cliffs at Howth..

I agree - June, July or August. The rain is warmer then.
The only detractor is that those months are the most crowded and a bit more expensive. For a more mellow experience try the shoulder season...May or Sept, ie after summer vacations have ended.
Do consider a few days in the North. Derry in particular is one of the prettiest and most evocative places we've ever been.

We traveled in August and had a couple rainy days + a few more when it rained some. Bring a rain jacket, sweater (for layering), and an umbrella. We never wore the shorts that we brought. Jeans got soggy.

"June, July or August. The rain is warmer then."

This reminds me of what someone wrote about Glasgow weather - "In Glasgow, summer simply means cheerier umbrellas."

We've made two trips to Ireland in September, one for 15 days and one for 30, and the weather was great both times. There were a couple of rainy days each trip, but most days were dry and many of them were blue skies and sunshine. Locals told us how much better the weather was than it had been in July and August. There were a fair number of tourists around, but nothing like the crush of the summer months.

pawo if your months are flexible be sure to checkout when the sun rises and sets, may want to take advantage of the longer days in the summer months if you have a crammed up outdoor schedule!

May is one of the drier months. We were there in April 2002 and did nor find it too cold at all. I would worry a lot more about rain than cold. It's not going to be cold like central Europe or anything. Check average temp and rainfall on one of the online weather sites. You might want to check a couple of different locations within Ireland because rainfall varies in different parts of the country. Setting aside weather I always prefer shoulder season. April-May, second half of September even into October but it varies by country.

Pawo - not sure where you are from, so don't know what weather you consider to be good or bad. We spent 3 weeks in May all around the island. The mid-day temps ranged from mid 50s (F) to low 70s. Winds were from 0 mph many days around Dublin to approx 30-40 mph on a few gusty days out on the West coast looking into the Atlantic. Rain was rather low, just some mist or light dripping, we were never drenched. Typical day was probably a high of 68-70 with winds 5 mph and partly cloudy. We've lived mostly around Seattle, so not fazed at all by those conditions. Our typical outerwear was a sweater and/or light jacket with a windproof, waterproof rainshell close at hand if needed.

Hello all. We're planning our 1st trip to Ireland this yr. With our work schedules we'll probably be able to go in Sept or early October. From what I'm reading here, it looks like the we should expect cool weather and to be prepared for rain (we'll be in Cork). Here's my question---what about hours of daylight? Many thanks.

We have visited Ireland twice in May and it was rainy and cold. Last trip was in early October and weather was great--cool enough at night for peat fires. So hard to tell about Irish weather. Rain jackets are a must.

Kim - you are correct: plan for cooler weather and always be prepared for at least a bit of rain, which means dress in layers and have a Plan B for particular days when outside activities might have to be cancelled due to inclement weather.

Thank you, Robert. We don't have a great deal of activities planned so far. In Cork, all the usual things, but mainly we enjoy wandering the town and stopping here or there to shop or eat or have a pint. A trip to the Jameson's distillery, Cobh, and perhaps a trip down the boast to Baltimore. Our travel agent has really discouraged us from going later than August due to the lack daylight hours (and she has done small guided tours of Scotland and Ireland for yrs). But I can't find anything to really back up this concern.

Sun goes down about seven pm in Dublin in September. If I had the choice I would skip the summer months and go either May, June, September or early October. To get exact times for sunset you can Google the sunset in Ireland, This year in early October at the cliffs, it was rainy and windy in AM. We left, went to lunch and came back about two and sun shining. In 2014 we could not barely stand as the wind was so bad at the cliffs. With Ireland, you never know, just be prepared for quickly changing weather.

Kim--over several trips we've spent most of the month of September and a couple of days in October in Ireland and had no sense of there being too few daylight hours--I think you'd be fine. BTW--when in Cork be sure to check out the Choctaw Monument (it's in Midleton, the home of the Jameson Distillery). It's very impressive, with a great story to tell!

PJ thank you for the tip. The Choctaw monument is a definite must-see, as I am Choctaw on my father's side of my family. Yet another reason we feel we are being magically 'pulled' to Cork. Thanks so much! Now, if anyone knows anything about the village of Lisgoold, please chime in.