Families book the sunshine for 2013

The Irish are used to explaining how bad a summer is by pointing to our pale disposition, rain-soaked countryside and — let’s face it — more than a little national depression.

But now we have another definition to our annual weather woes: becoming so fed up you book a short summer break almost a full year in advance.

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has revealed that as many as 20,000 families have already booked summer holidays for next year.