There will be little rain, though a chance of some scattered showers remains following days of washout weather.
“St Patrick’s Day has a promising picture overall with a lot of dry weather and some sunshine,” Met Éireann meteorologist Michelle Dillon said.
“There will be a few scattered showers around, but in general a lot of dry weather. It’s going to be mild – temperatures of 11C to 14C, so a promising picture for Sunday and a nice day on Friday with some sunshine, but some rain on Saturday.
“We’ve more rain to deal with in the short-term, with rainfall warnings out for Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Galway.”
A status orange rain warning is in effect for counties Cork and Kerry until 12pm today due to persistent rain accompanied by strong winds and a risk of flooding, while a status yellow rain warning is in place in Waterford, also until midday.
Between 30mm and 35mm of rain is expected to fall within 24 hours in Cork, with emergency crews on standby in the event of localised flooding.
Met Éireann has also issued a status yellow rain warning for Galway that will be in effect from midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster has warned of localised flooding and difficult driving conditions associated with heavy rain, but the current outlook for Sunday appears positive as rain appears likely to clear following a wet Saturday.
“We have unusually high spring tides at the moment, so it’s the cumulative effect of the rainfall and the high tides and high river levels that we have that orange warning for Cork and Kerry,” Ms Dillon said.
“The good news is it will be an improving situation for Friday, with some cloud to start, but it is going to become mostly dry and sunny with tides going back to normal levels as well.”
While the dry spell will be welcome news for parade organisers and attendees on St Patrick’s Day, fans gathering for the Six Nations showdown between Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday should expect rain.
“We do have more rain to deal with on Saturday, so some rain and freshening winds spreading across the country on Saturday but nothing too heavy, just a band of rain spreading eastwards,” Ms Dillon said.