Weather warnings for wind have come into force across much of the west coast as people travel home for Christmas.
Roads, flights and public transport could be disrupted by strong gusts as Met Éireann forecast a wet and windy weekend for many.
A status-yellow wind warning is in place for Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal until 2pm on Sunday.
A similar warning will come into force for Clare, Limerick and Kerry for 24 hours from 3pm on Saturday.
Met Éireann said westerly winds became strong and gusty overnight on Friday and will continue through Saturday, before veering north-westerly and peaking through Saturday night.
Large waves are also forecast with wave overtopping and spray expected along coasts in counties under wind warnings.
This will also lead to difficult travelling conditions in coastal areas. Some fallen trees are also possible.
Blustery scattered showers are also expected over the weekend, becoming widespread overnight on Saturday. Some of showers could be heavy and wintry with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and possibly some snow, especially in parts of Ulster and on higher ground.
Forecaster Liz Coleman said Met Éireann was not planning to name a storm at this stage but urged people to keep informed for any forecast updates.
“We are conscious that this is a busy weekend with people out and about and travelling home for Christmas,” she said.
“We want everyone to be aware that there could be tricky conditions on the road with these sustained winds.
“People need to take care in coastal areas as well, as there could be some very strong gusts along coasts with wave overtopping. Heed the advice of the Irish Coast Guard: Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry.”
The UK Met Office has an alert in place for strong winds in northern counties until 9pm on Sunday.
It warned that a prolonged period of strong winds over the weekend is likely to lead to some transport disruption.
The winds will ease for the start of next week but there will be rain moving east across Ireland on Monday, Met Éireann said.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day will all be mild and mostly cloudy with a fair amount of dry weather and with some light rain or drizzle at times, most likely in western and northern counties.
