Hello there everyone, welcome to Thursday. Ooh… just one day to go until the weekend. Why do short weeks after a long weekend always feel like the longest?

Anyway, I can tell you that it’s cold but fresh out there, and the sun rising over Dublin at 7am looks great:

Quite a few early morning traffic updates for you from AA Roadwatch.

There has been debris on the M1 motorway inbound at Dublin Airport in the middle lane. Reports suggest that has now been cleared, but drive extra carefully on that stretch of the road regardless just in case.

Meanwhile, in Cork there’s a horse loose on the Glenworth Road between Ballindangan and Mitchelstown. Drive with care.

There have been a lot of horses running wild and free over the last few mornings it seems. Bad horses, play safe.

Susanne Nilsson Susanne Nilsson

There’s been a breakdown on the M50 at the Dundrum roundabout heading towards Ballinteer. It has happened quite early so maybe the impact will be minimal, but best to be aware of it if you’re travelling in that direction:

The M50 at Ballinteer at 7am DCC DCC

Traffic seems to be holding up at present Google Maps Google Maps

Frost has been reported this morning on roads around Carrick on Shannon, Tullamore, and Cork City per AA Roadwatch. Remember to slow down and de-ice your car is their advice.

Meanwhile, there’s more debris on the roads – in Donegal this time on the Raphoe / Lifford Road between Raphoe and Ballindrait. Take care out there.

The R264 at Ballindrait Google Maps Google Maps

That breakdown on the M50 at Ballinteer is blocking the left-hand lane. Be aware, and drive safe.

Phew, that was a lot of traffic news for so early in the morning. Let’s have a quick look at the weather while we catch our breath courtesy of Met Éireann.

It’s going to be cold and bright this morning, with lots of lovely sunshine across the country. It’ll stay dry for most of the day, with the very occasional shower. The sunshine will disappear in the afternoon though giving way to cloud.

Temperatures will be fairly standard for this time of year – nine to 10 degrees Celsius at their height, with moderate south to southwest winds.

Check it out - hardly any rain! Met Éireann Met Éireann

The news is less good for this evening and tonight – rain will spread eastwards across the country becoming heavy and persistent. The night itself will be warmer than yesterday though – lowest temperatures of three to five degrees.

Now, that is what you call a sunrise people:

A lovely sunrise always makes me think of this song for some reason. But it’s probably just me:

In case you missed it, Ryanair have been forced to cancel a number of flights today due to a French Air Traffic Control strike:

• Flying with Ryanair tomorrow? Your flight might have been cancelled

Meanwhile, in Cork, the horse on the Glenworth Road appears to have realised the error in its way and stopped playing in the road:

A little bit late, but let’s have a look at how traffic is building into Dublin city this morning, courtesy of AA Roadwatch.

Most of the usual suspects are causing trouble – there’s delays between Ranelagh and Leeson Street bridge on the Grand Canal, while the north quays are once more moving very slowly between Inns Quay and Bachelors Walk.

Aside from the earlier-mentioned breakdown at the Ballinteer roundabout, the M50 is currently relatively clear in both directions.

The Con Colbert Road junction with Kilmainham is subject to delays, while the inbound Galway Road / N4 at Lucan is busy at the M50 interchange.

Here’s how the traffic radar is looking on Google Maps at 7.50am:

Click here to view a larger image

Meanwhile, the worst evidence of traffic disruption we can currently see via Dublin City Council’s traffic cameras is at the Malahide Road exit on the M1 inbound. One to keep an eye on:

DCC DCC

In the regional cities, as is usual for this time of morning, traffic is normal in Limerick, Waterford, and Cork at present per AA Roadwatch.

Galway is the standout, with the usual delays going into Galway Technology Park at Ballybrit Crescent. The Tuam Road is also getting busy inbound approaching Claregalway. Otherwise, traffic in Galway city is moving well.

Google Maps Google Maps

Ballybrit Crescent Google Maps Google Maps

Shutterstock Shutterstock

In other news this morning, TheJournal.ie delves into the statistics surrounding kidnappings in Ireland – figures for which jumped by a massive 25% last year:

• There were 25% more kidnappings in Ireland last year, but what does it mean?

The incident on the M50 at junction 13 Ballinteer has now been cleared, with traffic returning to normal.

Well, we knew this was coming… Luas services will NOT be running this weekend as two more strikes are due to take place in the ongoing pay dispute of the tram drivers with employer Transdev.

• There are MORE Luas strikes planned for this weekend – and it looks like they’re going ahead…

Here’s the pick of today’s news courtesy of our own 8 at 8:

Shutterstock Shutterstock

#SPAIN: A 21-year-old Irishman has died in the swimming pool of an apartment complex in the Costa del Sol.

#CRISIS: Another 83 families became homeless last month, bringing the number of children to become homeless this year to 363.

#GANGLAND: A new crime gang has formed in north Dublin, according to The Herald, which reports members are involved in extortion, criminal debt collection and drug dealing.

#SHARK ATTACK: A surfer had part of his thigh bitten off by a shark in Australia.

There’s been a crash on the N7 Naas Road between Rathcoole and Citywest – it’s blocking the right hand lane and causing delays:

Google Maps Google Maps

The N7 at Rathcoole Google Maps Google Maps

Galway services on Irish Rail are operating up to 20 minutes late due to a level crossing problem.

Staying out west, in Leitrim there’s a breakdown on the Dublin-Sligo Road at the Drumod Bypass. It’s blocking one lane.

We weren’t the only ones to notice the epic sunrise this morning.

In other news, this is the sunniest tweet we can think of. Happy Pear indeed.

Let’s have a look at the different commuter services now:

Luas

Both lines appear to be operating as normal

Dublin Bus

There are no major delays to report – in fact the company says that some routes are operating ahead of schedule this morning.

The Dublin Bus Twitter person (who never seems to have a dull moment) did have this interesting interaction with a customer this morning. Surely having a driver is a pre-requisite? Self-driving buses aren’t here yet after all:

Twitter Twitter

Irish Rail

As mentioned before, services into Galway are running 20 minutes late due to a level crossing issue.

In Dublin, there are delays of approximately 10 minutes to services in and out of Heuston Station:

Bus Éireann

No news on specific routes to report this morning.

The M50 is moving very well in both directions apart from a slight slowdown in the direction of Bray at Firhouse:

Meanwhile, there has been a crash in Donegal on the N13 Letterkenny / Ballybofey Road at Drumkeen.

The road is closed and is expected to be so until 9am.

Google Images Google Images

The N13 at Drumkeen Google Maps Google Maps

Another crash, on the M50 this time, and it’s in the same place as the previous issue – junction 13 Sandyford.

The crash has been moved to the hard shoulder but there are delays on approach:

No sign of it yet on the Ballinteer traffic cam:

DCC DCC

ANOTHER collision on the M50 on the southside of Dublin, this one is northbound after Junction 15 Carrickmines. Again, the accident has been moved to the hard shoulder.

Drive safely out there.

The traffic on this stretch of the M50 now looks horrible:

Google Maps Google Maps

Here’s a little more information from the gardaí on the accident in Kildare. Location update mostly:

Rail services at Dublin’s Heuston Station have now returned to normal:

That crash in Kildare on the N7 is causing delays now inbound into Dublin.

Back to the regional cities with AA Roadwatch:

In Galway, there are now no major delays to report apart from busy patches on the N59 Clifden Road near Glenlo Abbey.

In Cork it’s now slow between Junction 10 Mahon on the N40 to the Dunkettle Interchange. There are no unusual delays to report however.

Limerick has an unusual delay this morning on the Rosbrien Road due to work there at a level crossing.

Google Maps Google Maps

In Waterford traffic is moving well with no major delays to report.

In Cork city, there are now reports of two trucks broken down on the N20 Commons Road around Blackpool:

In Donegal, the accident mentioned earlier at Drumkeen has been cleared and the road has reopened:

Before we sign off, let’s check in with how traffic is moving in Dublin once more, again with AA Roadwatch:

Excluding the three crashes mentioned earlier in the blog (two on the M50, one on the N7 in Kildare), traffic is slow on the Stillorgan Road approaching Mount Merrion.

The Grand Canal is moving very slowly between Harold’s Cross and Leeson Street bridge.

Harolds Cross Bridge DCC DCC

The north quays are moving slightly better than normal, with some delays between wolfe Tone Quay and Bachelors Walk.

Fairview is busy from Edge’s Corner to the Five Lamps.

The Con Colbert Road junction with Kilmainham remains busy.

Finally, the approach to the Samuel Beckett Bridge is also busy.

Samuel Beckett Bridge DCC DCC

The crash on the Sligo Road in Leitrim has now been cleared it seems.

Well, that was a busy morning!

We’re going to sign off the liveblog now for today. There’s been a lot of accidents on the roads in the last few hours, so please do drive and travel safe. Arrive alive as the saying goes.

Take care, and I’ll chat to you again tomorrow for Friday morning’s blog.