Former Game staff stage sit-ins

Former employees of retailer Game staged protests at some of its Irish stores, following their closure yesterday.

The games firm, which went into administration yesterday, closed all of its stores in the State with the loss of 121 jobs. Administrators appointed yesterday also closed most of its stores in Northern Ireland, cutting 110 jobs.

Today, staff at two stores in Cork  were staging sit-in protests.

Game has eight outlets in Dublin, two in Cork and one each in Limerick, Galway, Monaghan and Athlone.

Only five stores in Ireland have escaped the axe, all in the North – two in Belfast and one each in Derry, Newtownards and Craigavon. The closures were effective immediately.

Game last week suspended its listing on the London Stock Exchange and said it was seeking the protection of the courts. Mike Jervis and Stuart Maddison of PricewaterhouseCoopers were yesterday appointed as joint administrators of the UK and Ireland operations.

The move was part of the "necessary" closure of 277 stores across the UK and Ireland yesterday, with the loss of around 2,100 jobs, following a review of the business, administrators said.