A group of bargain-hunters queued in wind and rain for up to 36 hours to buy a gas cooker for £20 this morning in one of the first of the millennium sales. The first 50 Bord Gais customers at their Dublin or Cork showrooms today will have the choice of buying a £249.99 cooker or a £99.99 gas fire for £19.99. However, some of those queuing were set to be disappointed because by 7 p.m. yesterday there were already 52 people in the queue at D'Olier Street, Dublin.
At the top of the queue were Ms Catherine Tyrrell and Ms Carol McCabe, both from Coolock, who had been queuing since 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Fifth in line was Mr John Murphy, who was seeking a replacement for the gas cooker which he bought in a similar Bord Gais promotion during the Dublin millennium in 1988. Then he queued out on an icy January night to be one of 100 people who got a cooker for £88.