Revellers soak it all up in the heat of the moment

The Liam McCarthy Cup was there much to the chagrin of the Tipperary and Waterford people in attendance

IT was warm certainly, but whether it was warm enough to justify a dip in the murky depths of the Liffey is very debatable.

Nonetheless, a couple of hundred brave souls did just that over the weekend as part of the 90th annual swim in the capital's main river -- a 2.2km race that finished at the Custom House in Dublin, and with a badly-needed shower.

Much of the rest of the country decided that sunstroke was a safer option, remaining on dry land as temperatures soared into the low-20s and we finally enjoying a belated taste of summer.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it won't last.

Although Met Eireann predicts dry, settled weather for much of this week, the temperature is set to fall substantially.

Today will be another dry day with further spells of sunshine and it is expected to remain dry and settled in most parts of the country until Friday.

Cooler

And Met Eireann forecaster Joan Blackburn told the Irish Independent that "mainly dry weather" was predicted for the week but "it won't be as sunny as we've had".

"[Today] will be quite sunny and there will be a mix of cloud and sunny spells during the week," she said.

"As a result, it will become cooler with more typical temperatures of 15 to 17 degrees for this time of year. There will be generally dry conditions," she added.

Sunshine will become less reliable as the week goes on.

But we made the most of it.

The sun shone on the Iverk Show in Piltown, Co Kilkenny yesterday, and an estimated 25,000 people basked in it. It was the 183rd running of the event, which has a good track record weather-wise.

The largest agricultural show in the southeast has historically been held on the first Thursday in September, but the committee was forced to postpone the event due to poor weather conditions.

The last-minute move to a Saturday show, coupled with the summer weather, produced a 20pc increase in attendance, according to organisers.

The Liam McCarthy Cup was there -- just as in the past three years -- much to the chagrin of the Tipperary and Waterford people who made up a large section of the attendance at the 30-acre south Kilkenny site.

In the west, revellers at the last music festival of the summer -- Cois Fharraige in Kilkee, Co Clare -- also enjoyed the action-packed water sports on offer on the beach yesterday, and the entertainment provided by a host of international and homegrown acts including Doves, the Zutons, the Blizzards and Laura Izibor.

Meanwhile, final preparations were under way last night for the Coldplay concert in the capital as engineers and technicians basked under the heat of the sun before adding the finishing touches to the stage ahead of tonight's concert.

Up to 40,000 people will travel to Dublin's Phoenix Park this evening for the Irish leg of the band's 'Viva La Vida' tour.

"The stage is completed and everything is in place," MCD's Justin Green said.

Doors open at 5pm with special guests White Lies taking to the stage at 6.20pm, followed by Elbow at 7.10pm.

Coldplay will be onstage at 8.40pm for the duration of two hours and tickets are still available, according to organisers.