Thousands put sun and fun top ofthe agenda

BANK holiday weekend revellers can look forward to a mostly dry and sunny weekend, though the best of the weather won’t arrive until Monday, just as everyone prepares to go back to work.

As hundreds of thousands prepare for the final knees-up of the summer, it's gearing up to be one of the busiest weekends of the year on roads, motorways, railways and airways.

And the news from Met Eireann is that unless you're holidaying in Connacht or Ulster the outlook is pretty good, improving all the way into Monday when temperatures are expected to hit the mid-20s for one of the first times in a while.

"Generally, we're looking at a lot of fine weather over the next few days," says Met Eireann's David Rogers. "Saturday will be mainly dry, though there will be some cloud in Connacht and Ulster. Temperatures will fluctuate around 17 to 20 degrees and winds will be slack.

Sunday will feature a more mixed bag of weather depending where revellers are.

"The weather on Sunday will be a bit more variable. It looks like being the worst of the three days. There will be more cloud in the west and the north as well as along the south coast. There may be a few hours of rain, chiefly in Connacht and Ulster.

"The weather along the south coast may be on the murky side. But the more inland you go, the better the weather. It looks like being dryer and warmer inland and may be a bit close. The worst of the weather will be focused along the west and the north.

"Monday looks like being a very good day. It will improve throughout the day. We expect hazy sunshine building up to temperatures in the mid-20's, particularly inland."

It's gearing up to be a busy weekend nationwide. GAA fanatics can look forward to double-headers at Croke Park tomorrow and on Monday while down south, the 2003 Guinness Mitchelstown Music Festival featuring Australian diva Dannii Minogue as the headline act goes head-to-head with Waterford's Spraoi street theatre festival in a battle for fans.

In the North, the Féile 2003 in Belfast is expected to be a huge draw. And in Dublin, film buffs are gathering for the four-day 11th Dublin Lesbian & Gay festival at the Irish Film Centre.