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A QUEUE OF eclipse enthusiasts covered hundreds of metres of South Great George’s Street in Dublin city centre this morning as people tried to get their hands on the hard-to-find eclipse glasses ahead of tonight’s rare solar event.

This evening’s eclipse is to cover up to 98% of the Sun in parts of Ireland, something that hasn’t occurred since 1999 and is expected not to occur on the same scale again until 2090.

Viewing the eclipse without special eyewear can cause permanent damage by burning the light-sensitive cells in your retina, but eclipse glasses have sold out in many places.

Dublin gift shop Designist sold out of eclipse glasses on Saturday, but store owner Jennie said that after a day telling shoppers she had no more in stock, she was “desperate to find some from somewhere”.

The store managed to get 2,400 pairs of glasses from Astronomy Ireland and is selling each pair for €10 as a fundraiser for the organisation.

“We definitely will sell out today, but we’re going to try to help out as many people as we can,” she said.

The Journal spoke to some of the hundreds of people queuing for eclipse glasses this morning.

Aoife said she had made loads of “queue friends” while waiting to get her hands on a pair of glasses.

“I think I’ve nearly been an hour now; I didn’t realise though because I’ve been having great fun chatting,” she said.

Aoife is heading to a special solar eclipse concert near Ticknock, Co Dublin to observe the event.

During the last eclipse Aoife saw, in 1999, she said she watched it from the pavilion in Trinity using a pinhole camera.

Patrick, aged 12, was queueing with his family for around an hour this morning.

“We tried to get them yesterday and they were out of stock,” he said, adding that he was “very happy” when he found out Designist had the glasses today.

Lucas, who queued for two hours this morning to buy some glasses, said his friend had ordered 10 pairs from an online shop for a solar eclipse gathering he’s hosting, but he’s worried they won’t arrive on time.

“I invited like ten people over so I really hope the glasses arrive,” he laughed.

Yadira, from Mexico, said she’s “really excited” to watch this evening’s eclipse, which she plans to do in Howth, Co Dublin.

“I’m very excited because it’s the first time I’ll see a total eclipse,” she said.

“The glasses are sold out everywhere, so I’m here queuing for nearly two hours. I’m very excited.”

Cliodhna queued for around an hour and a half today after previously trying to find glasses in the library and online.

“It’s been a nice experience just hanging out with people and waiting,” she said.

“I saw [an eclipse] in 1999, it was in the Iveagh Gardens. I’ll be about 82 the next time, so I might not be here.”

Christine bought three pairs of glasses this morning after trying to get some for her sister yesterday.

“They were sold out everywhere. We knew they were coming in here this morning. It was a two-hour queue, but the guys in Designist are doing it as a fundraiser, so they’re not making any money from it, I think that’s really amazing,” Christine said.

“All the money is going to Astronomy Ireland, so that made me feel better about the queue.”

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