Apprentices fired up to be apple of Cullen’s eye

AFTER 1,200 applications the nation was last night finally introduced to the 14 of Ireland’s “brightest and best” who are to battle it out to become Bill Cullen’s apprentice.

Following the success of The Apprentice franchise in the US with Donald Trump and in Britain with Alan Sugar, TV3 has launched an Irish version with Bill “It’s a long way from penny apples” Cullen.

Flanked by partner Jackie Lavin and PR consultant Brian Purcell, Mr Cullen was introduced to the 14 contenders outside the €2 million property that will house the apprentices for the next 14 weeks.

Mr Cullen is a well-known Irish businessman and philanthropist. He began life selling apples with his mother in Moore Street, which he recount-ed in his best-selling autobiography It’s a Long Way from Penny Apples.

He made his fortune when he secured the Renault Ireland franchise.

He is a director of The Irish Youth Foundation.

In keeping with the rags to riches theme, the first task assigned to the group was, unsurprisingly, to sell fruit in Moore Street, just like Mr Cullen did with his mother all those years ago.

First off, however, each of the teams had to come up with a name. The boys’ team first toyed with The Dragons, as it was a “powerful creature” (nobody told them it was also a mythical creature), before settling on Dynamo — meaning self-generating energy. Very clever.

The girls’ team, on the other hand, plumped for Phoenix, of rising from the ashes fame, after considering Jaguar. (Another powerful creature, we were told.)

After some “oohs” and “aahs” at how fancy the house was, both teams were off to Smithfield armed with €350 to buy some of Mr Cullen’s penny apples and try to make a profit on a rainy Moore Street.

What followed was the usual fast-paced action as each team tried to outdo and outsell the other.

Cue phone calls while running around Dublin, helicopter shots of the financial district, and a bit of banter with the public before the back-stabbing began in earnest in the boardroom.

As business was slow on Moore Street, Phoenix decided to up sticks and hit Grafton Street. Dynamo opted to stay put and send out “mobile units” to flog fruit to unsuspecting hairdressers.

The boys’ team even resorted to getting out the Golden Pages and cold-calling businesses to try and “negotiate deals”.

You had to remind yourself that these guys were “closing deals” on a bunch of bananas here and a box of apples there.

When all was said and done, Phoenix managed to narrowly outsell Dynamo, and poor old David Neary from Mayo, who never really looked up to the task, was the first to hear the immortal words: “You’re fired!”

In fairness, the Irish version stands up quite well to its US and British predecessors.

Mr Cullen and his aides look relaxed and confident on screen, while the contenders are a good mix of overconfident and pretentious to some who are obviously completely out of their depth.