There were only three U2 fans queueing outside HMV in Grafton Street in Dublin yesterday morning to be among the first to get their hands on the band's much-awaited album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which went on sale at midnight.
Among them was one of U2's biggest fans, Mr Martin Shanahan (42), from Cork, who returned from London for the experience.
However, queueing for the album increased throughout last night. A spokesman for the Grafton Street branch of the store said that, although the store had closed at the normal time of 9 p.m. last night, it would reopen again at midnight when they expected a larger gathering.
"We will probably stay open for about an hour to deal with the demand and then we expect a busy day tomorrow, beginning at 7 a.m.," he added.
It was a long day for Martin Shanahan, who joined the queue at 10 a.m. yesterday, one of the wettest days so far this winter.
"It's a pilgrimage," said Martin, who has been a U2 fan for 25 years. "This is the place to be. Nothing happens in London. A lottery win wouldn't move me from here."
Also among the slow-growing gathering at HMV were friends Dave Farrell and Vincent Kearns, both Dubliners. They took time off work "to pay back time to U2."
The trio have queued for every U2 album ever released. Indeed, so familiar were their faces to HMV staff that they were greeted with breakfast upon arrival yesterday.
When a U2 concert coincided with Vincent Kearns's proposed wedding day many years ago, his wife had to accept that a later date would have to do.
"You can get married any time," he argued, "but there's not a U2 concert every day."
They say their wives have no choice but to accept their husbands' passion for the Dublin-based band.
"We have widows at home," laughed Martin Shanahan.