The scene near Junction 17 on the M8 on Monday.

A number of freak sleet and hail showers forced sections of the M8 motorway to be closed for short periods over the past number of days.

A heavy fall of hail and sleet on Monday afternoon caused a number of vehicles to crash on the northbound carriage of the M8 between junctions 17 and 15 between Watergrasshill and Rathcormac.

Some of the cars that left the motorway on Tuesday.
Some of the cars that left the motorway on Tuesday.

Five or more cars were involved but luckily, no one was injured. One commentator on Twitter noted that a garda car did a 360 degree turn, itself narrowly avoiding a crash.

On Tuesday afternoon, a hail and sleet shower caused similar problems when a section of the motorway near Mitchelstown was closed on both sides due to the adverse weather.

One car was involved in an accident north bound, while five cars lost control on the south bound side, with three cars leaving the motorway, but no injuries were reported.

The incidents occurred around 2.15pm on Tuesday between Junction 12 and 13 and both sides of the motorway were closed for about two and a half hours.

Fire brigades from Cahir, Mitchelstown and Fermoy were all on the scene.