Fountains and canals freeze as cold snap continues

A frozen fountain joined the equally rare sight of sheets of ice on canals and lakes around the country as the cold snap continued today.

The water feature in the grounds of the 18th century mansion St Helen’s, Stillorgan, south Dublin has been completely iced over for three days after an Arctic chill blew in some of the lowest temperatures for a decade.

The elegant fountain, a centrepiece at the historic home which now houses the Radisson Hotel, partly froze on Sunday with pipes quickly sealing up as the frost worsened.

A hotel spokeswoman guaranteed, however, the freeze had only affected the outdoor feature.

The odd sight of a frozen fountain followed the icing of the Grand Canal and small lakes in the Midlands where temperatures fell to as low as -5C.

Met Éireann have warned the cold spell will continue until the weekend when temperatures are expected to climb back into double figures for the first time in more than a week.