This morning the IE Domain Registry opened the rules up a little bit more. It is now possible to register yourname.ie if you have a tangible contact with Ireland ie. proof of address is required.
I spoke to IEDR’s CEO, David Curtin, earlier today (I’m currently in LA) and he predicted that there would be over 1000 new domains registered before the end of this week. For a ccTLD of the size of IE one thousand additions to the zonefile in such a short period of time is quite significant.
Of course there are validation issues to be dealt with. Photocopies of passports maybe valid, but how legible will they be?