'Absolutely mental': Apple launches first Irish store
Judging by press reports and YouTube videos, the grand opening of Ireland's first Apple Store was like any other — except with an Irish accent.
The faithful queued up by the hundreds and waited for hours, fortified by coffee and biscuits. Staffers in orange, black and blue whooped and hollered up and down the line. And when the doors finally opened at 9 a.m. on the upper ground floor of Belfast's new Victoria Square mall, there where high-fives and free T-shirts for all.
The YouTube video pasted below captures the noise and excitement, but to get the full flavor of Northern Ireland's home-brewed Mac cult — Apple logo calf tattoo and all — check out the BBC film report here.
"It's mental," says an Irish fanman with his fanboy son in tow. "It's absolutely mental."
For interior photos and a nicely written account, see Alan in Belfast's blog entry here.
The Belfast store was one of five that Apple [AAPL] opened on Saturday — one in Lancaster, PA, one in Colorado Springs, CO, and two in California.
Screen grab courtesy of the BBC.
Oh, Ireland is also an island. What a lame excuse for an obvious mistake. If you mean the island, then say ON Ireland. IN Ireland refers to the country.
ex ped: OK. Headline rewritten to get around the problem. "On Ireland" reads funny to my ear, and the trouble with the headline "first store in Northern Ireland" is that makes it sound like there was already one in the Irish Republic, which there isn't.
Yeah the store opened in Northern Ireland with the usual American fan fare, to which Northern Irish people found indifferent. However after a moment everyone joined in the cheering and all the high five clapping going on with Apple staff.
For Belfast people this is the really first quality store to arrive and perhaps customer service will catch on in local stores.
Check out blog Left over GREY MATTER http://derekhall.eo-creative.com/?p=126
Well, in a spirit of conciliation, it was certainly the first Apple in Northern Ireland, and the only store on the island of Ireland too. The Apple PR folk present wouldn't be drawn on the likelihood of a Dublin store opening.
Thanks for the link.
Apple Store openings are where real people can openly say, "I'm a proud Mac-user", unlike some TV commercials where pseudo-celebs, Eva Longoria and Tony P, and attention-seekers, Deepak Chopra, profess to be inanimate objects.
Oh, and it's probably good to point out that the Belfast store is in Northern Ireland, not Ireland. You have heard of the "troubles", haven't you?
ex ped: See note below. Ireland is also an island.
It's Northern Ireland, nor Ireland. Years of war nothing tell you?
ex ped: Ireland is an island that contains the Irish Republic, a sovereign state, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. This was the first Apple Store in Ireland.
Are these warranteed against spilt beer?
As for the Americans giving history lessons here about the world's troubles I would suggest you mind your own business; otherwise your business may skip town with trillions of your tax money.
What's that, you say they have already?