Ireland is due to witness a solar eclipse on the morning of March 20.

The event will begin around 8.24am and will reach its peak at 9.29am, during which it will block up to 90 per cent of the sun's light.

The total phase of the eclipse, which blocks out the entirety of the sun, will only affect Svalbard, Norway and the Faroe Islands, but most of Europe will witness a partial eclipse for the first time since 1999.

Curious onlookers are reminded to avoid looking directly at the sun, as serious retinal damage can result. Instead, the eclipse is best witnessed through a simple pinhole projector.