Weather In Ireland | Let’s Talk About The Weather

Let’s talk about the weather in Ireland. The first thing we tried to determine from South Africa was: what is the weather really like in Ireland, and more importantly Cork?

Numbers expressed to describe temperature don’t really give you an idea of how it actually feels like. You’ll often see this term used on weather forecasts, “feels like” temperature. I’m sure everyone has experienced a perceived cold 20°C and a perceived warmer 20°C. The level of comfort generally depends on the relative humidity, wind and of course whether it is it raining or not.

Ireland’s average winter temperature in general is relatively mild compared to other countries on the same latitude. This is due to a warm surface ocean currents to the West of Ireland. In Cork, which is located on the south coast, the winter temperatures remain relatively constant between about 6°C to 8°C. Yes, there are cold spells when temperatures fall below zero, but this happens during the coldest winter months and only lasts for a few days to a week. Snow seems to be a rare occurrence, but it does happen. To give you an idea of thermal comfort: when the wind isn’t blowing, the temperature is 8°C and it’s overcast I wear jeans, a t-shirt and an unzipped jacket when going to the shops or for a walk. It does take some time to get used to, but if you are patient with the weather in December and January, you will be rewarded with a mild, very livable climate for the rest of the year. The weather in Ireland is not as bad as it’s reputation suggests!

Ireland’s rainy season is pretty much the entire year. Yes, it rains a lot. It also stops long enough to go for a nice walk or to get something done in the garden. There are storms every so often that bring persistent rain for days at a time which can get a bit annoying in the moment.

Summer days are long, mild and warm, with average temperatures in the 20s. We tend to spend a lot of time outdoors in summer. It really is shorts-and-t-shirt weather and yes, you can even catch a tan! If you’re thinking temperatures in the 20s still sound too low for summer- don’t worry, you will acclimatise quickly. We promise. The sun shines hot and bright and it’s perfect for a braai late in the afternoon or early evening. In Cork during mid-July, you’ll have more than 16 hours of sunshine!

If you were planning on having visitors over from South Africa and it was a weather-only decision, we recommend between middle of May and end of August when it is usually nice and warm.

So, what is the take-away from this? If you are touching down in Cork in spring or summer, even early autumn, your normal gear will do fine. Jeans, t-shirts, dresses and light sweaters and jackets are great, but we wouldn’t personally suggest packing all your winter coats from home unnecessarily, for two reasons:

1) They are bulky, heavy and tough to carry halfway across the world. Don’t fill up your dwindling luggage space with coats. We did and could have done with other items we opted to leave back in SA. 2) You can buy coats, raincoats and jackets that are better suited for the weather here that won’t break the bank.

I bought a water resistant jacket for about €30 on Amazon when we arrived which I still wear most days. If you are in a rush you can also get a similar jacket at Dunnes. If you are landing in winter, layering with a long sleeve shirt, jumper and jacket will do fine if you’re going to get in a car or bus after arriving. Packing gloves and a beanie is also a good idea.

If a €30 jacket doesn’t really float your boat – you can attack the weather in Ireland with a really nice warm fit-for-purpose coat. You can find most of the international brands here and if you grab something like a neat Ted Baker coat from Brown Thomas, the main department store brand here in Ireland, you can land a 40% – 50% off deal with their big end-of-season sale that runs in January. Same goes for most of the big brand names. If department stores aren’t really your bag, some quality staple wardrobe pieces for both winter and summer can be found at Selected.

Lastly, there are outdoor stores a-plenty if it’s just something practical and warm you are looking for. Try having a look at what Jack and Jones, Diesel or Lifestyle Sports offer.

-johan