Flood becomes trickle as applicants meet deadline

At 100 Grafton Street, the busiest branch in the entire AIB network, there was a lunchtime rush by workers in the area to deliver their applications, but things calmed down from around 2.30 p.m.

"Lunchtime was very busy. From noon to 2 p.m., we had hundreds coming through, but it died down after that," said one staff member.

By 3.30 p.m., the flood had slowed to a trickle and just 50 people showed up to lodge applications in the last half-hour.

But some would-be shareholders ran into last-minute problems - one couple had difficulty organising payment while another young man, having lost his personalised priority application form, had to settle for filling out an ordinary form.

No late applicants turned up at the branch, where the doors were shut promptly at 4 p.m. as indicated. The one late arrival pleading with the security man to be allowed entry was found to be waving a lodgement slip, not a share application form.

In AIB's O'Connell Street branch, the Tipp-Ex was out on the help desk as staff guided the last of the applicants through their forms. Close to the Telecom Eireann white box, a table was strewn with prospectuses, mini-prospectuses and torn envelopes. The black biros were out as the peculiar breed of people who leave everything to the last minute did their applications.

In the last 15 minutes, 27 applications were posted.

Then, at 4.02 p.m., Mr Adrian Kavanagh posted a sealed envelope. It was for his father, he said, and he had forgotten to carry out the task earlier.

He was unaware that Wednesday was the last day. Minutes later, the box was sealed. AIB branches in the south-east braced themselves for a last-minute rush of applications to buy Telecom shares - but the anticipated panic never materialised.

Branches throughout the region said the public heeded the advice to organise applications early. After an "incredibly busy" Monday and Tuesday, Telecom-related business slowed yesterday as the 4 p.m. deadline approached.

With half-an-hour to go, there were almost as many customers in the Paddy Power bookmaker shop on Michael Street in Waterford as there were in the AIB branch next door, suggesting that many punters were sticking with more conventional forms of gambling.

There were conflicting reports about whether the flotation had captured the imagination of the public at large. Ms Bernie Farrell, commercial manager of AIB in Waterford and South Tipperary, said there had been a lot of applications for the maximum £100,000-worth of shares. "But we haven't seen the same type of volumes of smaller applications," she said. "I'd say the ordinary man in the street hasn't bought into it as much as the Government would like." Even farmers, who would be familiar with the procedures involved in buying shares, had not got involved to the extent that might have been expected, she added.

Elsewhere, however, a strong take-up among the public at large was reported. A spokesman at the AIB branch in High Street, Kilkenny, said there had been a lot of business at both ends of the market, with a significant take-up of the smaller share amounts. The experience was similar in Wexford, where Mr Jim O'Shea, manager of AIB's North Main St branch, said there was a "huge number" of customers buying small amounts of shares. He was "delighted" to see there had been no last-minute rush and customers had organised themselves early.