Eight former staff entered the store just before 7am after blockading it for 152 days as the row over a redundancy deal rumbles on without a deal.
Workers say they are entitled to 4 weeks redundancy pay per year of service and have described a settlement offer they received last week as an 'insult'.
Debenhams announced the closure of 11 stores here in Ireland including the Patrick Street and Mahon Point stores in April.
Speaking to RedFM News from inside the Patrick Street store in the past half hour, shop steward Valerie Conlon says staff felt like they had no other choice but to escalate their action:
