Weather 'not unusual for May'

Met Éireann has insisted that the current cold, wet and windy spell is not unusual for this time of year.

May has brought single-digit temperatures and gales to Ireland.

Weather forecaster Joan Blackburn said: “What has happened is an area of low pressure has come in from the Atlantic and it is sitting over Scotland, feeding down cold north-westerly winds over Ireland.

"It is not moving away quickly. In fact, it is going to be hanging over Scotland and Ireland tomorrow, feeding down plenty of showers.”