In fact, the torrential rainfall . . . 84mm in just an hour-and-a-half . . . coming as it did after several weeks of dry weather, caused Dooncarton Mountain to deposit 170,000 cubic metres of mud and rubble on the area below. And this was not an isolated event.

Ireland is now seeing more frequent storm events than ever before, with torrential rain becoming particularly prevalent in the north and west. Over the past century, rainfall at Malin Head has increased by 40% and it is here that there are very real landslide risks.

"Areas in upland counties such as Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Donegal are all particularly susceptible to landslides, " said Koen Verbruggen of the Geological Survey of Ireland. "At the moment, we are seeing about a dozen a year and as climate change continues we are going to see more of these events."

While some landslides are a result of manmade action, like the Derrybrien landslide in 2003 which was caused by construction activity, many more are a direct consequence of fragile mountain and peat peaks, which cannot withstand the sudden torrential downpours which we are increasingly seeing.

"The intensity of our rainfall is changing, " says Rowan Fealy of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units (Icarus), based at NUI Maynooth.

"The traditional Irish characteristic of long periods of soft rainfall is dying out. In the last 30 to 40 years we have seen the same amount of rainfall but over much shorter periods of time, like the torrential rainfall event that caused the Dooncarton landslide."

The Geological Survey of Ireland is currently drawing up a susceptibility map of the country to pinpoint areas that are most at risk from landslides.

Its data so far shows that the Sligo area alone has seen over 700 individual land failures, while the country as a whole has had about 140 landslides to date.

"It is essential to know where a landslide may occur because more and more people are starting to build holiday homes in isolated spots in the west of Ireland before the area has been properly checked out, " said Verbruggen. "A planning tool is needed so developers can be aware of what exactly they are building on."

Flooding and drought For the people of Dooncarton, the landslide event of 2003 continues to affect their lives. For 19 families, a year passed before their homes were considered safe enough to return to, while one family decided they didn't want to return to the area again. A long and hard-fought battle ensued to get the government to release funds to protect the area from future landslides.

Eventually, last December, unique barriers similar to those used in the Alps to prevent avalanches were built around Dooncarton Mountain and it is no longer considered at risk.

"It was a very frightening experience for people in the area, " said Gerard McDonnell of the Dooncarton Landslide Committee. "There had been failures in the past and the area was prone to flooding, but nothing like this. As well as the houses, the local graveyard was destroyed, which upset everyone, and 19 bridges had to be replaced.

People are beginning to forget about it now, but it still comes up in conversation fairly often."

According to Icarus research, by 2055, Ireland's annual precipitation will have increased by 11%; this will be particularly evident in the northwest, where rainfall looks set to be up 20%. By contrast, the south and east will see summer rainfall decreases of up to 40%, leading to increased drought conditions in this part of the country.

"We are going to have warmer, drier summers and milder, wetter winters but this won't be evident year in, year out, " said Rowan Fealy. "Many people think that because this last summer was really wet, that is an indication that we are not being affected by climate change. In fact, it is entirely what we can expect from global warming."

Last summer, Kilkenny saw rainfall levels of a whopping 222% above average. In the summer of 2006, the same region's precipitation levels were 65% below the average.

In fact, the summer of 2006 saw drought conditions in the south and east of the country, with water conservationists calling for restraint. "Our average daily water output is 520 million litres a day, " said Tom Leahy, senior engineer with Dublin City Council at the time. "During the recent hot weather, that rose to 570 million litres a day. . . The extra demand cannot be sustained."

The summer of 2006 represented the type of weather Ireland can, for the most part, continue to expect over the coming decades. And this could cause serious problems in terms of water shortages and irrigation in the south and east of the country.

"The availability of water is going to be a critical issue, " said John Sweeney of Icarus. "We need to look at our water resources and how they are managed very closely, and our river flow needs to be revised. In the eastern half of the country, water has been in scarce supply during some summer months and this urgently needs to be addressed."

Ireland's climate is not going to turn Mediterranean, but the drier summers and wetter winters are going to pose two very different problems for each half of the country. While the north and west must adapt to an increase in torrential downpours and the problems they bring . . . flooding, landslides . . . the east and south must deal with increased drought and address the issues of water conservation and crop irrigation.

Dependent on emissions "Our temperatures are rising and this trend will continue, even if we were to stop all greenhouse gas emissions immediately, " says Ray McGrath of Met Eireann. "Our climate is going to continue to warm up and to what extent it will continue is dependent on how much our emissions are curtailed."

"There's certainly an idea out there that climate change isn't really anything to do with us and so we shouldn't be bothered about it, " said Fealy.

"The fact is, we are not immune from climate change. We are already seeing the effects of it and this is only going to continue. In the future, whatever happens globally will have a severe impact on us."

Irish agriculture must prepare for change

BLUE TONGUE disease is just one of the problems climate change is already posing for Irish farmers. The disease, which used to remain firmly within the warmer climes of the European continent, spread as far as the UK this year due to lower temperatures. And with Ireland's ever-milder winters, we are now increasingly susceptible to it and other diseases.

"Certain diseases can be controlled by frost, like the way a good frost can kill off the midges that carry Bluetongue disease, " said John Sweeney of Icarus. "But our frost days have reduced by as much as 50% in certain areas of the country in the last few decades and this is having an impact on farmers."

As well as Bluetongue disease, a higher incidence of crop and tree diseases such as septoria, honey fungus and fomes can all occur as a result of higher temperatures. And crops can be affected in other ways . . . already, Ireland's soft-fruit crops of raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants are in danger because the frost that is an integral part of the growing process is not forthcoming.

"It is a great concern for us, " said Wexford blackcurrant grower Des Jeffares, whose business has been in the family since his grandfather's time. "Blackcurrants need a good, cold winter and what is described as a lot of 'chill hours' to do well, and if the winter isn't cold enough, the entire crop is in danger. It can lead to an uneven flowering time, which means a lot of the fruit is over-ripe by the time it comes to harvest."

Perhaps most incredible of all is the fact that Ireland's national crop, the potato, is under threat because of our warming climate. "Potatoes are a problem crop for the future, " Sweeney confirms. "They require a good deal of summer moisture and as we are expecting less summer rainfall, particularly in the south and east of the country, it may soon be no longer viable to continue growing potatoes in these regions."

Next year has been designated International Year of the Potato by the UN, but by 2050 it may be almost entirely irrelevant in this country. "It's possible to see how, if it did get drier, we wouldn't get so good a crop and the price of potatoes would become much dearer, " said north Dublin potato farmer David Rogers. "Irrigation is already a problem here when it's dry, but then, the weather has been so mixed, it's hard to see a trend."

However, higher temperatures have meant Irish farmers are already able to grow more barley, wheat and maize than ever before and this will continue as our climate warms.

Grass crops will thrive and soybean, which at the moment is hardly grown here, will become a part of our agricultural landscape.

For wine-maker David Llewellyn, his vineyard in Lusk, Co Dublin, is thriving as a result of climate change. He produces two basic grapes and a few hundred bottles a year of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in what he describes as an "overgrown hobby".

"Wine-growing is moving northwards all the time because it's getting to the stage where southern Europe is becoming too hot to produce wine, " he said. "Grapes can still only be planted in certain sites in Ireland . . . they need southfacing slopes and are best suited to the east and south of the country. They generally need to be covered in summer to give them more heat but by using hardier varieties from north Germany it's possible to get quite a good crop."

Despite the many changes, Ireland's agriculture should continue to thrive over the coming decades, according to Sweeney. In fact, Ireland may become a haven for crop immigrants as much of the world's ability to grow wheat diminishes and ours expands.

"We'll do somewhat better than many of our neighbouring countries who may suffer a lot more, " said Sweeney. "But it is important to prepare for the changes which will occur."