At last the good people of Ireland can throw away the winter woollies for another year – a heatwave is on the way.

Temperatures across Ireland are to soar by the weekend as the country finally experiences some sunshine.

After an unusually cold start to May – Aer Lingus planes were de-iced at Dublin Airport last week – the mercury readings are set to soar.

Temperatures in Dublin, Galway and Limerick are expected to rival those of Tenerife, Florence, Istanbul, Lisbon and Madrid by the weekend according to reports in the Irish Independent.

And weather forecasters say Friday and Saturday will be scorchers.

“There is a heads-up of summer coming on Tuesday. We are already seeing an improvement,” Joanna Donnelly, from the Irish government’s weather service, told the Independent.

“The worst of the unsettled weather of the past two months is probably over. The very cold weather should be behind us now.”