Saint Patrick himself is smiling on us this week.

In a year when we are being gifted not one but two bank holidays for Paddy’s weekend, Met Éireann is bringing us even more good news for the days ahead.

Once the pesky business of Monday and Tuesday is over with, we’re looking at some blissfully dry and mild conditions from Wednesday night on – just in time to paint the town green ahead of St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) – a bank holiday – and the extra bank holiday on March 18th.

While the week will start off cloudy and cold with persistent showers, conditions will become drier and clearer by Wednesday evening, with highest temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees with light to moderate breezes.

According to Met Éireann: “Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day, will be a mainly dry day with some sunshine and just isolated showers early in the day. Afternoon temperatures of 12 or 13 degrees with light to moderate southwest breezes falling light southeast later.

“Current indications suggest the settled spell that starts on Wednesday night will continue into the weekend with sunshine, light winds and temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees in the afternoon and clear skies at night allowing temperatures to fall below freezing bringing frost.”

Fierce mild with the odd shower? We can deal with that.

Let the countdown begin.