Ireland in May: What You Need to Know

Thinking of visiting Ireland in May? Let me help – I was just in Ireland this past May (2025), after having previously visited in July.

Ireland is a fantastic place to visit year-round, but spring and summer are (like many other European destinations) the most popular months for tourism.

Based on our recent experience, I’m going to:

• debunk a few common myths you may have about Ireland in May
• give you some useful tips to help you prepare for your May trip to Ireland

So, let’s jump in!

Useful Tips for Visiting Ireland in May

1. The average ‘normal’ temperature tends to be chilly, but that can change

The average temperature around Ireland during the month of May tends to fall around:

• an average low of 9°C/48°F
• an average high of 15°C/59°F

However, last year in May, it was warmer than the averages that you’ll see listed anywhere. It was usually around 20°C (68°F), sometimes even warmer.

2. May has long daylight hours

Ireland is in the northern part of Europe, so you start getting longer daylight hours in May – not as long as in Scotland, or Scandinavia, but still quite long.

Here are the times you’re looking at for sunrise and sunset:

• Sunrise between 5:00 and 5:50am
• Sunset between 8:54 and 9:40

You can see the exact times for sunsets/sunrises for each day in May here.

2. It will likely rain, but you may have lots of sunny days too

The first time I visited Ireland was July 2016, and it rained almost every day. Our most recent trip in May 2025, it hardly rained at all!

We were there for 2 weeks, and it only rained a few times. It didn’t rain for the whole first week.

Locals told us that this was unusual for this time of year, and they loved the sunny weather. There were almost no clouds.

So, what I learned from this is that while it most likely will rain during your visit, I recommend bringing layers – so that you have T-shirts to wear in case you have warm, sunny 25°C (77°F) days like we did.

3. It can still get pretty touristy

May is much quieter than July in terms of tourists, but it’s still a pretty popular time to visit.

If you visit any of the really big attractions, like Cliffs of Moher – you’ll still see lots of other tourists there, even in early May.

I was actually surprised to see how busy some places were in the month of May. Some examples were the ferries to the Aran Islands, the Burren Purfumery, and Cliffs of Moher during the day were all pretty packed in mid-May. It was still enjoyable to visit them, but its a reminder to expect to see lots of other peope there.

So, I recommend you plan your Irish May trip similar to how you would if it was July. Which means:

• ✅ Book any special accommodation experiences advance. Ireland has some amazing places to stay, like remote cottages, castles hotels, and abandoned castles that have been converted into AirBnbs. These kinds of things fill up early, so book them early if you plan to visit between May-September
• ✅ Book any tours in advance, especially if they’re popular (Viator will often tell you if they’re likely to sell out)
• ✅ Consider lesser-visited places. The highly popular places will still be touristy even in May. We enjoyed hiding out in some of the quieter, underrated places that less people know about.

4. May is when festival season starts to ramp up

Ireland has a number of year round festivals but May starts to bring warmer weather – which means festival season starts to really ramp up.

Cities like Galway and Cork have festivals that tend to fall during the month of May, including:

• The Cat Laughs Festival (comedy) in Kilkenny
• Cork International Choral Festival, running from late April to early May

Ireland in May Packing List

• Rain jacket, or poncho
• Cap and sunscreen for sunny days
• T-shirt. There were many days where we wore only t-shirts, but we usually tried to make sure there were hoodies or jackets on hand in case we needed them
• Waterproof walking shoes that are comfortable

Things We Did in Ireland in May

We spent 2 weeks driving around Ireland during our most recent May trip. Here’s a rundown of what we did:

• We spent the first few days in Dublin. It’s one of my favourite European cities, and a really nice place to visit.
• We rented a remote Irish cottage in the countryside in the Connemara region, it was the highlight of our trip. While we were there, we visited the Kylemore Abbey, Clifden and the Kilarney Sheep Farm to learn about sheep farming
• We spent three nights in Doolin, which I recommend. It’s a small town near Cliffs of Moher and has a lot of things to do in the area

*continued

• Since we were staying near the Cliffs of Moher, we were able to visit the cliffs at sunset
• We did hiking and other outdoor activities in Killarney, including some of the Ring of Kerry
• We visited lots of castles – Malahide Castle, Ross Castle, and Clifden (one of the many abandonded castles)
• We visited the village of Adare, which is known as the one of the cutest small towns in Ireland

• We stopped in Galway city, which is my favourite city in Ireland
• We took a ferry to one of the Aran Islands (Inis Oirr, which is the smallest island) and spent the day there. We took the ferry from Doolin, but its possible to take it from Galway too
• We took the train to Belfast from Dublin, it took just over 2 hours. We are so glad that we explored Northern Ireland on this past trip, its incredibly beautiful

Other Great Options for Things to Do During May in Ireland

• Visiting other cities (Limerick, Cork, Kilkenny) I didn’t make it there this past May, but Limerick and Cork are two other major Irish cities and are both worth visiting. Read my article comparing the two if you want to choose between them, or see what the highlights are
• Drive around the Dingle Peninsula. We meant to make it here during our trip, but we were exhausted from long drives and decided to do local things in Killarney (where we were staying) instead. The Slea Head Drive is supposed to be one of the most scenic drives in Ireland
• Drive the Ring of Kerry. We drove a little bit of the Ring of Kerry in May, but I did more of it during my last trip to Ireland. It’s honestly my favourite place in Ireland, the views are so beautiful

Bottom Line: Is May a Good Time to Visit Ireland?

Oh my gosh, yes – May is the perfect time to visit Ireland, in my opinion. Lots of tourist services are open and in full swing. There are lots of other people (both locals and international tourists) out visiting the attractions, but not as many as there would be in the full peak season, which tends to come in July.