Lives of the PC dealers 1978-88

May

The three-day Computex 1978 exhibition in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin saw the first public appearance in Ireland of Apple Computer’s products. The vendor had accredited Budget Computing as its Irish partner in late 1977 and the company demonstrated the original Apple II computer at this show.

Microprocessor-based single-user computers were just starting to become available. Other examples on display at Computex came from Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Rome-based Insel (later renamed Mael Computers). They attracted attention because they were much less expensive than the minicomputers that had dominated the Irish computer trade since the early 1970s.

Budget Computing had started trading in 1976, initially importing and assembling computers from Southwest Technical Products Corporation. Its founders were Trinity College Dublin lecturer Lewis Leith and Brendan Jordan, who worked at Dunsink Observatory.

The company sold almost all of the early Apple IIs in Ireland to schools. Computer education at this time was an extracurricular activity. Individual teachers with an interest in the technology began to run programming courses and raised the funds to buy equipment. The Apple II, together with its peripherals, cost less than £2,000 – a price that made educational computing affordable for the first time.

Apple’s specialisation in this field culminated in December 1981, when minister for education John Boland announced a £200,000 bulk purchase agreement for school computers. This deal offered a standard package to 105 second level schools, comprising a 48K Apple II system, a 16K language card, two disk drives, a 12 inch monitor and a Centronics printer, plus software and documentation. The decision was strongly influenced by the government’s desire to supply hardware that was assembled in Ireland. Apple had nominated Cork as its manufacturing headquarters for Europe in the previous year.

Read ‘I gave a lot of demonstrations where I switched off that computer after 45 minutes’

Medical & Scientific Computer Services (MSCS) in Lisburn, which had previously developed and sold technologies for hospital laboratories, diversified into microcomputer sales. The company had been in operation since 1969, when its three founders – Robert McLaughlin, James Magowan and Fabian Monds – were based at Queens University Belfast.

When MSCS began to sell systems, the first machine that it offered was the Commodore PET running Microsoft BASIC. It soon replaced the PET with the Computer Automation Alpha and then with the ITT 2020 – a clone of the Apple II. This Apple-licensed system’s colour video signal conformed with the European PAL standard for television sets.

By the early 1980s the focus of MSCS’s activities had shifted from technical computing services to supplying desktop computers with business software.

Commodore International selected Software Development Services, an established implementer of IBM’s mid-range systems, as the Irish distributor for its low-cost computers.

This partnership began with the Personal Electronic Transaction computer, commonly known as the Commodore PET.

February

A new venture, Softech, started trading. Lewis Leith, the co-founder of Budget Computing set up this new Dublin-based firm, which took over the supply of Apple computers from his previous company.

Softech opened an office in Camden Street, where most of the staff were Trinity College graduates.

July

CDS Computing offered a variety of hardware from premises in central Cork. The company tried its hand at product distribution in later years.

August

Don Lehane, who previously worked at Cara Data Processing, and Danny McNally established Lendac Data Systems.

In its early years the company supplied Cromemco and Atari computers from its premises at the IDA Enterprise Centre in Pearse Street, Dublin.

Lendac subsequently sold microcomputers from multiple manufacturers and, when it added a store on Dawson Street, it became one of the first computer sellers in Ireland with a retail shopfront.

October

Maurice Cohen and Neville Kutner established Dublin-based Tomorrows World, initially specialising in hobbyist electronics at premises in Grafton Street.

The company subsequently relocated to Dundrum and started selling computers to businesses. When IBM launched its PC in January 1983, it named Tomorrows World as one of the first three IBM dealers in Ireland.

October

Despite its name, American Computers was an Irish-owned operation that assembled its own hardware at premises in Pearse Street, Dublin.

Its Easyuse microcomputer ran under CP/M and was later joined by the AM200 series which had a proprietary multi-user operating system.

Pat Garvey and Eddie Kerr founded Sharptext, which grew to become one of the twenty largest computer distributors in Europe by the early 1990s.

Sharptext, however, started life as a reseller of computers and photocopiers. The company based its name on that of its principal supplier: Sharp Corporation in Japan.

February

Dublin-based Taggart Whelan & Associates was initially a computer services company. When it was formed in 1980 it offered consultancy and bureau services, but two years later it switched its focus to microcomputer sales.

In this role the firm supplied ACT and Apricot systems, bundled with software packages for professional practices.

Founded by Gerry Gray and based in Galway, CK Business Electronics became a reseller for Digital Equipment PCs, among others.

May

American microcomputer maker Tandy Corporation registered an Irish subsidiary in Dublin.

This organisation sold its TRS-80 home computers through a small set of resellers. The commercial success and public awareness that Tandy achieved in the US were never replicated in Ireland.

May

Former IBM employees John Bergin and Jerry Sheehan set up Work Stations to maintain and repair typewriters and typesetting machines. The company subsequently added equipment leasing to its activities.

Work Stations expanded into PC sales and training in 1985, encouraging its customers to migrate their office procedures onto personal computers.

Read Ed Horgan’s testimony

June

Primarily a software package developer, Dublin-based Manufacturing Management Systems (MMS) also sold microcomputers in order to pay its way.

It offered the Rair Black Box, an Intel 8085-based system made in Britain and later taken over by ICL which revamped it as the Model 10 PC. MMS partnered with ICL in later years and also became an Altos reseller.

Frank Cole, who established the company, had previously sold Hewlett-Packard computers in the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia as well as in Ireland.

August

Clondalkin-based Orbis Micro Computers (Ireland) commenced operations and became a distributor of Applied Computer Techniques (ACT) products.

In the early 1980s this line-up included the US-made Victor 9000, which was rebadged as the ACT Sirius 1 in Europe, and the ACT 8000, which Orbis offered with bundled software as a ‘business micro computer’.

September

QTH Electronics, one of the earliest high street computer retailers, opened its first store in Dun Laoghaire. In later years it became an Apple specialist and moved to a prominent location in Dawson Street, Dublin.

November

Computers Unlimited was a trading name used by Reitig Consultants, which started life as a consulting business in Donegal Town. The company became a PC reseller, supplying systems to customers across the northwest.

Softech, prompted by Apple, set up a separate wholesale business in Deansgrange, distributing computers to other retailers while its city centre branch continued to sell Apple products directly to users.

Softech Distributors signed up dealers throughout the country, often in towns where computer resellers had never operated before.

November

Portable Microsystems was a distribution firm for Osborne Computer Corporation.

The business which had an office in Dame Street, Dublin was short-lived. It was nonetheless notable for raising awareness at an early date that computers would not always be deskbound. In the early 1980s some personal systems could already be carried around.

December

This Foxrock-based company started as a developer of accounting and payroll software for microcomputers but, by the mid-1980s, Pascal Computer Systems was also selling Digital, Commodore and Apple hardware.

December

Japanese computer vendor Sord opened its first international subsidiary, Orange Computer Products, in Clonshaugh Industrial Estate. The company selected the Orange name to signify that it intended to challenge Apple Computer in Europe.

The Clonshaugh base was primarily a repackaging and distribution operation. Sord signalled its intention to add system assembly at a later date, but never implemented this plan. It did, however, establish a network of dealers in Ireland.

January

Binary Computer aspired to be a microcomputer manufacturer. Its plans centred on a system design that it obtained through a partnership with Dublin-based Memory Computer.

The company made an agreement with Udaras na Gaeltachta to assemble systems in Tralee and was reported in late 1981 to have commenced the training of staff there.

February

Access Computer Systems opened its premises in Parnell Street, Dublin.

The company traded for less than three years, but was nonetheless significant for introducing the Durango F-85 computer to Ireland. California-based Durango Systems had released this system in 1978, when it was one of the first personal computers to run CP/M as well as an operating system of its own.

March

Mitec, an authorised dealer for Tandy Corporation, ran two branches in Dublin and one in Cork. It subsequently added Mitec Computer Centres in Waterford, Belfast and Galway.

March

Originally registered in Dublin by former HP manager Rod McGahon, this company opened in Barna, Connemara and later moved into Galway city, where it traded as Declan Computers.

The company not only sold Commodore microcomputers in the west of Ireland, but also acted as a regional supplier of Memorex Corporation’s peripherals and media.

Read Tom Callanan’s testimony

April

Primarily a distributor of Intel components, Glenageary-based Micro Marketing also sold complete systems built by Intel.

Established in 1981 through a management buyout at the Unilever bureau service, DDP Computing supplied Televideo microcomputers. Later on it became a reseller of ICL PCs.

When International Computers Ltd (ICL) wanted a desktop computer to join its mainframe and minicomputer families, it licensed a design from Rair Microcomputer, a much smaller British system maker that had released the Rair Black Box in 1978.
The company started production of its ICL Personal Computer, a version of the Black Box, in 1981. The machine was built on the Intel 8085 and, like most of its contemporaries, used the CP/M operating system.

Business Automation (later known as BA Systems) was the computer sales arm of the Matrix Group – a Dublin-based organisation that originated in a recruitment agency for computing staff. Group founder Joe Rooney had previously worked for IBM.

Launched in 1981 and led by Barry Rhodes, BA initially offered the Intertec Superbrain, then added Digital’s Rainbow, the IBM PC and other products.

Read Declan Ganter’s testimony

September

Sord set up a retail organisation for Ireland, Sord Computer Sales, at its Orange Computer Products subsidiary in Clonshaugh.

September

Founded by Paul Crowley, this Dublin company sold Commodore products, frequently promoting them as supplementary equipment for installations with much larger computers.

September

Noel May established Transtec with ambitions to build and export its own microcomputers. The company set up a base at the IDA Enterprise Centre in Pearse Street, Dublin, where it assembled systems until its demise in 1986.

Transtec’s products included the Hydra range of multi-user microcomputers and its Transnet local area network.

September

Joe Byrne was a project engineer at the Apple facility in Cork before he established Glanmire Electronics in nearby Watergrasshill.

His company not only developed add-on memory products for Apple systems. As an Apple dealer, it also opened sales offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

October

Microdigital Business Services offered consulting services and supplied systems from a base in Shankill, Co Dublin.

October

Three Cork-based employees left office equipment supplier Bryan S Ryan to set up Amabar Business Systems. The new firm opened premises on Georges Quay and started to sell Sord computers.

December

Business Management Systems was formed in Dublin. In its early days the company sourced products from multiple hardware vendors. Subsequently, however, it partnered with Toshiba and became closely identified with the Japanese manufacturer’s computers.

January

The Enniscorthy-based Donohoe Group, which was best known for bottling and distributing drinks, launched its own computer sales business, Datapac. Donohoe’s data processsing manager, David Laird, took the helm.

The Donohoe Group used IBM mid-range computers to manage its operations and set up Datapac in the knowledge that IBM had entered the PC trade in the US. It duly became one of the first accredited resellers of the IBM PC in January 1983.

Thereafter it added North Star and Compaq systems to its portfolio.

Read David Laird’s testimony

March

Electronic World, which ran a store in Parnell Street, Limerick, was an early retailer of home computers.

March

Olivetti, along with its long-established partner in Ireland Bryan S Ryan, entered the personal computer trade with the launch of the M20. Memory Ireland subsequently became a distributor for its PCs.

Designed at the Italian firm’s own research centre in Silicon Valley, the Olivetti M20 was based upon the seldom-seen Zilog Z8000 microprocessor and used a proprietary operating system.

MKM Management Controls sold specialist word processing systems before it added general purpose PCs to its offerings.

This firm, based in Parnell Street, Dublin, began to supply Xerox microcomputers in 1982.

Engineering applications specialist Benchmark ran offices in Dublin and in Holywood, Co Down. The company supplied ITT and ICL PCs in the mid-1980s before deciding to focus on technical workstations.

Systems Modelling commenced trading in Arklow, initially as a reseller of Apple II computers that it obtained through Softech Distributors.

Patrick O’Beirne, who previously worked at Nitrigin Eireann Teoranta, had started this business as a sole trader in 1981. His special interest – and the new company’s primary focus – was financial modelling in general and spreadsheet applications in particular.

Along with Tony Moynihan he also presented the Irish Management Institute’s first introductory course on personal computer skills for non-technical managers. This three-day workshop, which took place in June, assumed that software products would not meet all the requirements of PC users. It therefore gave participants a grounding in the Basic language and expected the attendees to undertake some programming. The course also covered the VisiCalc spreadsheet, but not specific packages for tasks like word processing or accounting.

Read Patrick O’Beirne’s testimony

May

Cork-based Zentec Microsystems grew rapidly in the early 1980s as a reseller for North Star Computer. It also supplied Compaq products.

May

Omnitek became the Irish distributor of Atari’s home and business computers. The Tallaght firm also handled the company’s video games.

June

Digital Equipment Corporation entered the personal computer trade when it unveiled the Rainbow 100 microcomputer. By the start of 1983 the company had appointed six resellers in Ireland.

The Rainbow was based on a two-processor architecture – an Intel 8088 plus a Zilog Z80A – and ran the CP/M operating system.

Digital also released a second CP/M-based machine, the DECmate II, as a specialist word processing product.

June

Located in Galway, ICE Data Systems sold Digital Equipment systems, including its personal computers, and added Wang PCs in later years.

July

Originally focused on publishing technologies, Dublin-based Typetec became an Apple dealer in 1985 and went on to expand its range of IT products and services.

Founded by Brendan Supple and Noel Stephenson, Dublin-based Databank Systems supplied NCR microcomputers to business customers. It also became the all-Ireland distributor of Dragon home computers.

In later years the company’s primary activity was the implementation of point-of-sale equipment and store management systems for supermarkets and cash & carries.

August

Blackrock-based Future Technology was launched in 1982. Major PC vendors, including IBM, North Star and Wang, accredited the company as a reseller in the following years.

COPS developed and distributed software for IBM minicomputers before the PC arrived. In 1982 the Dublin company established a new line of business, COPS Computers, to supply personal systems.

In 1983 COPS began to promote the IBM PC, using a space in Switzers department store for demonstrations and sales.

January

Cara Data Processing entered the PC trade as one of IBM’s first dealers in Ireland. It proceeded to open ‘micro systems centres’ in Dublin and Cork, showcasing Digital and Sord machines as well as IBM equipment.

Owned by Aer Lingus, Cara was already one of the country’s largest computing service firms with extensive experience in minicomputers, data communications equipment, software development and consulting.

Read David Little’s testimony

January

California-based North Star Computers set up a European manufacturing and sales operation at Kilbarry, Cork. Alec Wrafter, who headed this organisation, had previously managed Apple’s facility in Cork.

The company’s products were sold in Ireland by Lendac Data Systems before it established its own subsidiary. The Cork operation launched a fresh campaign to recruit dealers in May 1984.

North Star had been founded in 1976 at the dawn of the personal computer industry. From the start it aimed to sell its products to business users, rather than to the hobbyists that other early entrants had focused on. In the 1980s it developed its own networking technologies and became known as a specialist in multi-user systems.

January

A distributor for Japanese manufacturer Canon, Cantec handled business machines like photocopiers and facsimile systems as well as handling its microcomputers.

Canon eventually assumed full ownership of its Irish partner.

February

A successor company to a similarly-named software development firm affiliated with Wang, Clondalkin-based Barrett Computer Sales supplied a broader range of PCs. It sourced equipment from Seiko, Alpha Micro and Sperry as well as from Wang.

Named after founder Jonathan Moss, who had previously worked at Softech, Moss Technology initially concentrated on microcomputer support and maintenance but expanded later into PC sales.

Based in Belfast, Sherwood Systems became a reseller of Olivetti PCs.

Dublin-based Datacode was initially an Apple dealer with distribution rights to the Omnis database. In subsequent years the company specialised in data communications and evolved into a modem developer.

March

Galway-based computer dealer Passax Electronics specialised in Microsoft technologies.

March

Edtek opened a home computer store in Dublin’s Powerscourt Townhouse Centre – a venue more commonly associated with fashion retailing.

Initially known as ABC Software, this Dundrum-based company became a supplier, and sometime distributor, of PCs from NEC, Sord and other Japanese manufacturers.

Smurfit Computing, a Jefferson Smurfit Group subsidiary that started as a computer bureau, joined IBM Ireland’s PC dealer network.

April

A company whose name was somewhat misleading, Computer Equipment Distributors was primarily a software development outfit with close ties to Hewlett-Packard Ireland.

Accordingly, it became one of the first HP PC dealers when the vendor entered the personal computer trade in 1984.

April

Sandyford-based Addex targeted retail stores, selling handheld data gathering devices in conjunction with PC systems.

May

Led by Gerry McManus and Michael Vickers, Sligo-based CompuPac Ireland was IBM Ireland’s first PC reseller in the northwest.

Limerick-based Fitzpatrick Business Systems entered the computer trade as a hardware and software supplier for the mid-west region.

June

Apple opened a sales and marketing subsidiary for Ireland at Mount Street Crescent in Dublin. Headed by Brian Kelly, Apple Computer Sales Ireland took over the distribution of Apple products from Softech.

The reorganisation was closely followed by the arrival in Ireland of Apple’s new flagship system – the £8,250 Lisa computer with its innovative mouse control and graphical interface.

In January 1984 the company launched the considerably less expensive Macintosh, describing it as ‘a sophisticated affordably priced personal computer designed for business people, professionals and students in a broad range of fields’.

Read Hello Macintosh

IBM accredited Cork-based Irish Business Systems as a PC reseller in mid-1983.

Founded eleven years earlier as an office equipment supplier, the company was already selling and supporting photocopiers, printers and typewriters throughout the country.

July

Chicago-based Zenith Electronics established manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries in Kells to build up its PC business in Europe.

Production started with the assembly and test of power supplies and monitors. The Kells operation took on responsibility for the Zenith personal computer range in 1985.

August

A specialist in accounting and manufacturing management software, Stillorgan-based Notley Cahill Systems became an IBM dealer and proceeded to deliver its applications on IBM PCs.

IBM Ireland accredited Condell Electronics as a PC dealer. Its parent organisation, RH Condell, was a long established office supplies company with a store in central Limerick.

October

Office automation specialist Wang joined the microcomputer fray after it realised that multi-purpose desktop machines were eroding the demand for its single-purpose word processors.

Wang Ireland pitched the company’s first PC as a system designed for ‘professionals and managers’.

November

Trostan was an early reseller for Compaq, at a time when the system maker positioned itself as a portable computer specialist. The Dublin company also became a dealer for IBM and Apple.

November

Microact, a newly formed Dublin company, secured the Irish distribution rights to ACT’s latest product: the Apricot PC.

December

Business Computer Solutions, located in Limerick, sold personal computers from Epson and Wang.

January

Founded in Drogheda to sell PCs across the northeast region, Callan Computers achieved significant longevity by partnering with a wide range of equipment vendors.

Tomorrows World added an importing and distribution arm to its activities. TW Distributors initially focused on consumer electronics but later expanded its portfolio to include business products.

ICS Computing, a long-established bureau operator, became one of the first IBM PC suppliers in Northern Ireland. It also sold Digital Equipment’s personal computers.

Britain’s Acorn Computers, which was best known as a home computer vendor, opened a sales office in Leopardstown.

By 1984 the company’s portfolio included the Acorn Business Computer as well as the hobbyist-oriented Acorn Electron and BBC Microcomputer.

March

Fujitsu and NEC were both among the first time exhibitors at the 1984 edition of the Computex exhibition in Dublin. The increasing visibility of Japanese manufacturers in the Irish PC trade was a major talking point at the event.

Fujitsu not only demonstrated its FM7 and FM16 ‘business micros’ at Computex, but also used the show to recruit resellers for its desktop computers.

NEC had recently selected Dundrum Micro Centre to be its PC distributor in Ireland.

March

Hewlett-Packard Ireland launched the HP-150 personal computer, which was powered by the Intel 8088 microprocessor and ran a customised version of MS-DOS. Its most distinctive feature, however, was a touch sensitive screen, which required modifications to software packages.

The company showed little interest in building up a dealer network, naming just two resellers: Cara and Computer Equipment Distributors, an HP specialist that offered an Irish payroll application for the new machine.

The system’s non-compatibility with IBM PCs dampened customer interest in the HP-150. Hewlett-Packard responded by introducing the plug-compatible Vectra PC in 1985.

IBM Ireland appointed Sound Systems, a Dublin-based telecommunications equipment supplier established in 1945, as a PC dealer.

June

Ed Vernon and Desmond McGlade were development engineers at Queens University Belfast before they formed Business & Industrial Computer Systems – or BIC Systems as it was always known.

The company sold ITT, ICL and Honeywell Bull PCs before it became a Compaq partner and a specialist in engineering workstations.

BIC Systems subsequently expanded into a large computer services organisation with operations in Dublin as well as Belfast.

Read Desi McGlade’s testimony
Read Ed Vernon’s testimony

August

Computer Support Services (CSS) was one of the first Irish companies to assemble PCs to order.

CSS sourced hardware in Taiwan and configured it in Shannon, but found that it could not match the prices of comparable machines assembled in Asia. The company therefore became a Wang dealer and switched its focus to software development.

August

Based in Portlaoise, Astral Computer Management Services sourced its computers from Tandon Corporation – a disk drive pioneer that, by the mid-1980s, had built up a PC family which shadowed IBM’s portfolio.

HE Clissmann was a long-established import business that had operated a computer products division since 1979. The Dublin-based company stepped up this activity in 1984 when it teamed up with an Asian manufacturer of IBM-compatible PCs and started to supply its systems to Irish resellers.

Over the next two years Clissmann assumed control of the specification for its systems and introduced the Prompt brand name for the PCs.

October

Trade distributor Gericmar started operations as a supplier of computer printers and peripherals. The Dublin company expanded its portfolio steadily until, perhaps inevitably, vendors asked it to distribute their PCs as well.

November

Mainframe vendor Sperry announced plans to introduce its IBM-compatible PCs in Ireland. The company proceeded to appoint five dealers in early 1985.

November

A Dublin company that initially marketed single- and multi-user microcomputers, Tarenax Computers went on to prioritise software development and to distribute tools for other software developers.

December

With premises in central Dublin, ERS Computers became a reseller for London-based PC vendor Elonex.

February

Orchard Business Centre, later known as Orchard Group, supplied IBM and other PCs, then moved into software development.

Bernie Donnelly, founder of the Dun Laoghaire company, had previously sold computers at Taggart Whelan.

March

Dublin-based Computing Workshop focused on publishing and graphical applications for the Apple Macintosh.

April

Branagan Business Supplies sold IBM and Amstrad PCs from city centre premises in Dublin.

April

Founded by Paul Hourican as a Sord reseller in Cork, PFH Computers became an IBM partner in 1990. The company went on to achieve national scale and longevity as PFH Technology Group.

Read Paul Hourican’s testimony

SAS Group started as an energy management company. Then known as Saunders Acquisition Systems, it became an ICL dealer in 1985 and subsequently branched out with the formation of new subsidiaries.

One of these businesses, Enigma Technologies, imported and assembled computer boards from Asia. Another arm of the group, Sastech, distributed systems, peripherals and software.

May

An early focus on packaged software for management reporting gave Decision Support Systems its name. Soon, though, the Dublin-based firm became an IBM PC supplier and built up a substantial systems integration business.

Compaq Computer raised its profile in Ireland in 1985 by appointing Cara and Trostan Computers as outlets for its portable PCs. Business Automation took on its systems in the following year.

PC Consultants was the first Compaq dealer in Northern Ireland.

The IBM-compatible computer maker did not open a sales office in Ireland until 1994.

June

Primarily a developer of customer-specific PC software, QED Computer Services also sold ICL’s personal computers.

October

Dublin-based Goldchip introduced Kaypro Corporation’s distinctively ‘luggable’ PCs to Ireland.

Fred Crowe ran an Apple dealership in Clontarf. The software arm of his company developed financial packages.

March

Security system developer Europlex diversified into the computer trade, establishing a subsidiary that distributed products from vendors such as Epson and Philips.

June

Headed by John Coote, a former Olivetti manager in Ireland, Alcom Computers sold and supported PCs from a base in central Dublin.

September

With premises in Dorset Street, Dublin, Castle Computers sold multiple makes of computer hardware, including products from Compaq, ICL, Philips and Wang.

December

Founded with a focus on PCs for desktop publishing, LaserType subsequently moved upmarket into newspaper production systems.

April

A trade-only hardware distributor with a parent organisation in Britain, Studley Peripherals handled Epson and Zenith PCs as well as assorted peripheral equipment.

April

BTT had a broader spread of activities than its name suggested. The central Dublin company soon became a sales outlet for Amstrad computers.

Samir Naji established Horizon Computers as an Apple reseller in Cork. The business expanded in the 1990s and evolved into a group of IT distribution and service businesses.

July

Saretron Computer Systems, later known as Bluechip Technology, distributed PCs and terminals from a base in Moone, Co Kildare. Taiwanese manufacturer Mitac was an early supplier of its products.

September

PC reseller Sapphire Computers operated from an industrial estate in Wexford.

November

Dublin-based Chevron Computer Services was a Compaq reseller with a special focus on accounting applications for first time users.

February

Importer-distributor HE Clissmann established a new company, Quattro Computers, to manufacture its Prompt PC range in Dublin.

December

Frontline Distribution, a British PC hardware software and hardware distributor, established an Irish subsidiary in Santry.

Fina Murphy, who previously worked for Sound Systems, managed the new operation.