'Every teacher in Ireland is here' as tills ring out
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GONE shopping. The tills were ringing north of the border as southern shoppers, including droves of striking public servants, used the national day of action to migrate in search of a bargain.
When they finally managed to extricate themselves from the massive traffic jam on the motorway, shopping centre car parks in Newry were filled with southern registration plates.
The Quays Shopping Centre, the first opportunity for southerners to part themselves from their cash, was full of parents leading their bored-looking children round the shops. Most youngsters had probably hoped to be spending their windfall day off rather differently.
In Sainsburys, trolleys heaved under slabs of beer and boxes of wine. Even a child's pushchair, now minus its occupant, became a repository for bottles of gin, vodka and rum.
"Look at the crowds," said one woman in a distinctive southern lilt.
"Sure every teacher in Ireland is here," replied her friend, somewhat uncharitably.
Queues for the checkouts snaked down the aisles, with many of the first-timers making a rookie mistake by joining the lines nearest to the drinks section, which are always the longest.
Student Pauline Burke from Lucan in Dublin was making her first foray north of the border thanks to the national day of action.
"I had no classes because of the strike so I thought I'd come up and have a look.
"The way things are priced down the south it's just for greed. I spend the majority of my money at home so I don't think there's anything wrong with coming up here," she added.
Cheaper
She was joined by her friend, music teacher Claire Sherry from Walkinstown, Dublin, a more seasoned Newry shopper.
"Things are much cheaper here, that's why so many people come up," she said.
Another Dubliner, Katherine from Artane, is a regular visitor to the North and said people have to follow a bargain.
"People say you should be patriotic but you have to suit your pocket.
"I know the wages are not as good up here, but if they can afford to sell things as cheaply as they are, then why can't they do the same down south?"
"I come up all the time, a couple of times a year, mainly for the drink and the Christmas stuff," she added.
Meanwhile, not everyone was feeling so at ease with their decision to defect North.
One shopper, a train driver from the South Circular Road in Dublin, admitted to having doubts about spending his money in the Queen's jurisdiction as he stood with his trolley laden with Christmas crackers and selection boxes.
"I feel terrible doing it, I feel I'm giving money away, but I just follow the boss," he said, pointing to his partner.
"I'm on my day off, I'm a train driver so I'm not meant to be on strike," he joked.
"This is our first time doing a big shop here. You definitely get good value, if only on the wine," he added.
- Breda Heffernan
Irish Independent
