Dublin has not had a single hour of sunshine in 9 days, according to airport weather station

Ellen O'Donoghue

Met Éireann's weather station at Dublin Airport has not recorded a single hour of sunshine in nine days.

Large chunks of the country have been shrouded in grey skies, especially in the east, and Dublin in particular, for more than a week.

This is only the third time that has happened, according to Alan O'Reilly of Carlow Weather.

"We’ve had a high pressure out to the east of Ireland which is steering in cloud from the Irish Sea. That has brought a lot of cloud in eastern areas especially, but a lot of the country, there has been some bright spells in the west of the country, however, that cloud has been very dogged in over Dublin," he told Newstalk.

Counselling Psychologist Leslie Shoemaker told the radio station that Ireland needs to take a leaf out of the book of people in other sun-restricted nations.

"The Nordic’s have a great attitude towards it, because they talk about how there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes, [they have a] huge emphasis on getting outdoors," she said.

However, Mr O'Reilly also told Newstalk that the sun could return this weekend.

"Saturday looks like the day if you’re looking for sunshine it’s the best chance, but then we have the risk of a storm on Sunday," he said.

Regardless though, Met Eireann have said it will be mild for this time of year, with temperatures of up to 13 degrees on Wednesday.