Torrential rain was expected in all parts of the country last night with a risk of localised flooding in some areas, and while the wet weather was expected to dry up this morning in the west, it will be well into the afternoon before the rest of the country can expect any sunshine.

"Sunday afternoon will see some bright and sunny spells with temperatures from about 16-20 degrees and a moderate breeze, " said a Met Eireann spokeswoman.

"However, there will still be a risk of scattered showers."

Bank Holiday Monday will see much of the same, with sunny spells broken up by scattered showers and a risk of thunderstorms in places.

"There is some solace to be found in the fact that most of the heavy rain will be over by Sunday morning, but it certainly isn't the heatwave we were hoping for, " said the spokeswoman.

The rest of the week looks set to continue the pattern that saw 49 consecutive days of rainfall from 11 June to 29 July.

"Last Monday and Tuesday seem to have been our nice spell, " said the spokeswoman. The rest of the week should bring further showers, although there will be some dry and bright spells in between.