A status orange fire warning issued by the Department of Agriculture is in place amid dry sunny weather this weekend.
The warning states that there is a high risk of fire this weekend in areas with hazardous fuels such as dead grass and shrubs like heather and gorse.
This arises from the current, high pressure dominated weather patterns the department said.
“An increase in fire risk can be expected through the coming weekend as these conditions persist.”
“Current ignition risks appear to be mainly associated burning of vegetation in upland areas,” the warning states.
This alert state will be in place until early next week, lasting to midday on Monday, March 28.
The public are advised not to light any fires in and around forests of open land, and to not attempt to interfere with any fires they find.
Forest owners and people who live in country areas are asked to be extra vigilant regarding any potential fires.
Localised graphs for the fire weather index can be found at Met Eireann here.
