The best months to visit Ireland
A month-by-month look at temperature, rain, sunshine and daylight, and which time of year suits a walking trip, a beach holiday or a winter break.
There is no dry season in Ireland, so the question is not when it will not rain but what you want from the trip. The weather varies far more from week to week than from month to month, and the big differences between the seasons are daylight, temperature and the likelihood of a settled spell.
Month by month
| Month | Typical afternoon | Daylight | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7 to 9°C | 7½ to 9 hours | Wet and windy, with the storm season at its height. Mild on the coast, frosty inland. |
| February | 7 to 9°C | 9 to 10½ hours | Often the driest winter month in the east. Daffodils by the end of it. |
| March | 9 to 11°C | 11 to 13 hours | Brightening fast, but cold northerlies and showers of hail are common. |
| April | 11 to 13°C | 13 to 15 hours | One of the driest months. Sunshine and sharp showers; cold nights. |
| May | 14 to 16°C | 15 to 16½ hours | Sunniest month with June, and dry more often than not. The best walking weather. |
| June | 16 to 18°C | 17 hours | Long bright evenings, the sunniest skies of the year and the warmest sea still to come. |
| July | 18 to 20°C | 16 to 17 hours | The warmest month. More showers than May or June, especially in the west, and the busiest roads. |
| August | 17 to 19°C | 14½ to 16 hours | Warm and often humid, with the sea at its warmest. Thundery downpours possible. |
| September | 15 to 17°C | 12½ to 14 hours | Often brings a settled spell, with warm sea and quiet beaches. |
| October | 12 to 14°C | 10½ to 12 hours | Autumn colour, the first storms and the start of the wettest months. |
| November | 9 to 11°C | 8½ to 10 hours | Dull, damp and short days. Good value and empty roads. |
| December | 7 to 9°C | 7½ to 8 hours | Dark by half four, windy and mild. Snow is rare at low levels. |
Daylight is for Dublin; the north-west has slightly longer summer days and shorter winter ones. The seasons page gives the figures county by county.
For walking and the outdoors
May and June. The days are long, the ground has dried out after winter, the sunshine hours are the highest of the year and the midges and crowds of high summer have not arrived. September is the runner-up: shorter days, but often a stretch of calm high-pressure weather. Hills need care in any month, because a summit is always colder, wetter and far windier than the valley.
For the beach
Late July to early September. The sea reaches its warmest in August and September, when it is 15 to 17°C around most of the coast, and the south-east has the most sunshine. The sea swimming guide has the month-by-month water temperatures.
For cities, music and pubs
Any month, but October to March is cheaper and quieter, and the weather matters less when the plan is indoors. Pack for rain and wind rather than cold: a coastal winter afternoon is usually 8 or 9°C, and heavy snow in Dublin, Cork or Galway is a once-a-decade event.
Where to go
The south-east, around Wexford, Waterford and Wicklow, is the sunniest and among the driest corners of the country. The west is wetter and windier but milder in winter, and the scenery goes with the rain. The county climate pages compare them month by month, and the compare tool puts any three side by side.
What to pack
Layers rather than one heavy coat, a waterproof jacket with a hood in every month, and shoes that can take a wet path. An umbrella is little use in the west, where the rain arrives sideways. In summer bring sunscreen: the air is clean and the UV index reaches 6 or 7 on a clear June afternoon, enough to burn in half an hour.