Here is the moment shoppers queued around the block for hours to enter a Penneys store in Co Cork.
Some had been queuing from 5am as the shop on Patrick Street in the city finally reopens after three months of lockdown.
And a full hour and a half before the shop was due to open back up, a stunning video shows hundreds of customers patiently waiting on a cold and wet June morning, Cork Beo reports.
Because of social distancing, the queue was a lot longer than it would have been had people been allowed to get closer to each other than 2 metres and the decision was taken to open an hour ahead of the 10.30am scheduled.
There were plenty of security staff on hand to keep the queue in order and people were in good form as they waited patiently for the flagship Cork store to open.
The family at the top of the queue told CorkBeo that they had been waiting since 5am and were looking forward to getting "lots of clothes for the kids."
Penneys delayed their opening for almost a week after the store on Patrick Street would have been allowed to open as part of the recently fast-tracked phases.
The chain has put very strict social distancing and hygiene protocols in place for the big return to trading.
This morning sees a string of major retail outlets re-open across Cork as the return to normal process begins to speed up.
However, there was one major piece of bad news for the sector and Leeside shoppers - the Irish-owners of the Mothercare chain - with a major store in Mahon Point - this morning announced that they have placed their 14 stores across Ireland into liquidation.
Some 200 staff, including employees in Cork, have now lost their jobs.
