Irish consumers can finally download music for their iPod music players from the Apple iTunes website from today.
Apple, which has been criticised for not launching iTunes earlier in Ireland, said the site would offer up to 700,000 tracks from a range of artists from the Thrills to Destiny's Child.
Individual tracks will cost 99 cent and albums will cost €9.99. The site, at www.itunes.com, will also offer 8,000 audio books.
iTunes was launched in April 2003 as the world's first big commercial music website, enabling consumers to download individual tracks for a small fee. It has proved phenomenally successful selling more than 200 million songs for less than a $1 each.
Tracks bought from iTunes can only be played on Apple's iPod player, which was a popular Christmas gift selling tens of thousands of units in the Republic. But Apple has been criticised for releasing a host of special edition U2 material on iTunes before the site was launched here.
Prior to Christmas the US computer and electronics firm signed a partnership deal with U2, which included the release of the world's first 400-plus track digital box set for a fee of $149. But the box set was only made available on the the firm's iTunes website for download, which cannot be accessed by Irish consumers.
Consumers who purchased special edition U2 iPods could also not redeem a cut-price voucher for the U2 digital box set up until today at the website.
Apple blamed a series of complex rights negotiations with music companies based in the Republic for the delay, which left many of U2's Irish fans unable to get their hands on the material.
However, iTunes has been available in 12 other European countries since late October.