Limerick traders greeted the euro with mixed feelings yesterday, with most thankful for the quiet bank holiday business. Some businesses, however, felt they were doing the banks' job in providing conversion facilities.
City centre pubs, which would normally have a busy lunchtime period, made do with people having a quiet drink while the unfamiliar freshly minted change became a point of conversation.
Eugene and Lillian Quinn, who had been in South's pub at the Crescent, said the new coins were a nuisance and looked similar to Irish currency coins.
Mr John Sheehan noticed that the £2.20 he paid for a pint of Beamish was the euro equivalent of €2.79, a cent less than the new official euro price. For Guinness drinkers the price, at €3.05, appeared to have reached a new high. "We had a bit of a conversation with the people behind the bar about what system they are working. They were not busy at the time so it was easy to converse with them," Mr Tom Barry said. "The pint is as good as ever," his brother, Mike, added.
Ms Peggy Hickey, of South's, said most customers had their calculators with them for examining euro change. "We have one till for changing the currency only. It is all about taking your time."
Ms Betty Clancy, of Kevin McManus bookmakers, said the premises had to take a large amount of smaller denomination coins in order to have an adequate supply of €1 and €2 coins. She felt the Irish currency should have been withdrawn overnight instead of having a changeover period. "We are doing the banks' job for them. We are converting money for them. It is making it harder for us, slowing down our business."
Ms Maria Flynn, the duty manager at the Glentworth Hotel, felt it was a bad day for banks to be closed because people tended to convert large amounts of cash. "They are handing out £100 or £200 for us to change. It is not as if we are changing the amount they want to buy a drink."
Although most businesses were quiet, Colbert station was busy with travellers.
Iarnr≤d ╔ireann and Bus ╔ireann both operated separate queues for currency conversion.
"Nobody is hostile to it. I think more people have time on their hands to think about it. They are not thinking about anything else except euro today," Ms Rita Lyons, an Iarnr≤d ╔ireann teller said.
The Paper Train shop at the station was feeling the loss of dedicating one till to conversion but Mr Niall Rice felt that most people would use the euro exclusively within a week.
He was critical of the similarity between the €1 and €2 coins. "If you handle it quickly, you are going to get caught. There should be more of a difference."
Mr Glenn McLoughlin, manager of the White House, said the 50 cent and 20 cent coins were also similar. "If it had been last night or last week, there would have been mayhem. But anything to do with money, you would not be long getting used to it."