'I do miss the buzz': St Stephen's Day sale shoppers in Cork are a dying breed

Bargain hunters in Cork city centre say the queues outside stores are more 'civilised' these days, as more people stay home and shop online

Shoppers queue outside Brown Thomas on St Patrick's Street on St Stephen’s Day morning. Pictures: Chani Anderson

Anne O’Brien may well have been one of the first people to race into Brown Thomas in Cork City on Friday morning, but she is also one of a dying breed.

A veteran of early morning St Stephen’s Day sales, she remembers a time when she had to start queuing at 5am to get into the city’s Next branch to buy clothes.