Hi - sorry in advance for the repost, I was sure I had Ireland selected in my search topic but it wasn't showing up in the posts!

We've been planning a bit of an impromptu trip to Ireland over the last 5 weeks or so. We arrive in Shannon on Thursday 10/20/05 and fly out of Dublin on the 29th. We're renting a car, and basically going to see what we can in between for the 9 days. We've reserved our first night (heading up to Galway)and last two nights in Dublin, and we'll just be booking along the way as it's the off season and we're not too picky.

Planning to stay in Galway (checking out the Burren), Doolin (+ Cliffs of Moher), Dingle (2 nts), possibly Kenmare, Kinsale, Glendalough (hiking in the mts, etc) & Dublin (2 nts).

Anyway, the 10 day weather forecast is a mix of rain and showers (what's the difference!?)and I'm thinking the Ring of Kerry might not be worth the full day drive in the rain as we are definitely doing the Dingle Peninsula (in the rain ), and we all know there is never enough time.

Overall, we'd don't mind the rain, we're taking rain coats & will get out and about it in anyway, but I'm just wondering if we would rather add a night to Dublin, or spend more time in the South as opposed to doing both peninsulas. From the other posts I've seen Dingle appears to be the preferred peninsula, I'm just wondering if most certain rain showers would be the final nail in the coffin for ROK?

Thanks for any feedback you might have!

Tammi

Tammi--we fly in and out of Dublin on the 19th and the 29th, and are also doing Doolin, 2 nights in Dingle, 2 nights in Kenmare, and 1 night in Kinsale...the forecast of all rain has me bummin' as well. I too am concerned with driving the Bear peninsula and Mizen Head as well as Slea Head peninsulas in rain.
As for the difference between showers and rain, the little pic shows more raindops in the rain forecast and less in the shower forecast...anyways, looks like we're gonna get a lot of use out of the rain gear we bought.
Good luck...Pam

"I'm just wondering if most certain rain showers would be the final nail in the coffin for ROK?"

Where are you getting this "certainty" from? It's practically impossible anywhere in Ireland to be certain at 1000 what the weather's going to be like at 1100. And it's even tougher on the SW coast. Two weeks in advance? A forecast is roughly as reliable as buying a crystal ball.

In any case, a forecast of rain doesn't mean even the forecaster (though what does she know?) thinks it'll rain all day. And why can't you go round the Ring of Kerry when it's raining anyway? You weren't planning to do it in an open top sports car, surely?

It rains in Ireland. It rains frequently, though rarely very much. Ireland - all of it - is just as good in the rain as on one of those (thankfully rare) boring "nice" days when there's nothing but sun. If you're unfortunate to be in Ireland during a rain-free freakish period, you've missed the whole point of the country.

Just take the right clothes and do what you want. Are you a free human being or a slave to the weather?

Ireland dosen't have a climate. It has weather.

However if you go to the BBC weather page
at http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/
and search for Galway, you'll get a five day forecast.
Thursday and Friday look very nice with sunny intervals forecast.
However the temperatures are in the low teens high 50s in old money, so take suitable clothes.

The weather forecast is completely different than the U.S. 5 day forecast. You cannot tell until 2 days beforehand so don't bother with the report. Rain is soft and does not pour down all day like in the U.S. I always forget my umbrella but I don't really get soaked just a spray like this morning (had a hat though!)

I live in England, not Ireland and have lived in New England. In New England, if it was raining in the morning, you could be pretty sure that it would rain all day.

An American friend was very amused when she first visited England because when it started to rain, people nipped into shops or under awnings and waited until it stopped.

Showers, are just that. You get a short burst of rain and then it stops.
It's rare to have a day of non-stop rain.

A few tips for Irish Weather:

Never plan anything around the weather - it is unpredictable, and I wouldn't change my schedule, becasue you'll be driven mad trying to plan around the weather. Juist come prepared. The west coasts (Galway / Kerry & West Cork / Mayo) are generally wetter than the East of the country (Dublin / Wexford). I would say bring a few layers that you can put on / off & top it off with a wind breaker.

The Irish Met service, www.meteireann.ie, is a reliable source of up to date weather forecasts - it gives a 3 day forecast that is relatively accurate. This time of the year is still quite mild - at the moment it is 16C in Dublin.

A few other weather rules of thumb in Ireland:

Northern & Easterly winds will generally bring drier colder, weather from mainland Europe

South / Westerly winds come from the Atlantic, are generally warmer and wetter.

'Rain' is generally interpreted as long-lasting, 'showers' would be shorter bursts of say 5 - 10 minutes or so, so it can change rapidly.

Rain falls for 6% of the time in the east coast of Ireland and 9% on the west coast. It rains for all or part of 200 days yearly on average (150 in Dublin). Showers are more common than long spells of rain but you could be unlucky and get several wet days in a row.The Dublin region has the lowest rainfall of 30 inches compared to 45 inches in the western lowlands and much higher rainfall in the mountains.

topping for Kate1

Thanks to all of you for your informative posts. I'm certainly optimistic about the showers.

I guess putting rain in the topic could be the problem, but I guess I was more interested in opinions on the ROK in the rain. Is there reduced visibility, etc..

The decision is not being made today, based on a forecast, we'll just be figuring it out as we go, and our decision point will come when we have driven from Dingle to the point where we can turn West to do the Ring, or head south to the next town.

Thanks again!

see also this thread (one of two)

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34693737

Of course it rains in Ireland. And it certainly has for days and days on the East Coast...we were drenched last week in Boston and Amesbury and New Haven. And it may or may not rain today where you live. Or as in Missouri where it will be 85 degrees today and we need rain.

Point is...you prepare for rain and cold and pray it will be sunny and warm wherever you travel. BTW, several years ago we had three weeks of beautiful Fall weather in Ireland!

ozarksbill