'Amazon slayer': the Dublin minnow taking on the giants in drone deliveries

They rise to 70ft (21 metres), tilt forward and zip away in different directions, each carrying a paper bag. On a sleepy morning in the Irish capital the takeoffs build to a steady one every few minutes, with barely anyone glancing at the constant stream of aircraft buzzing back and forth. "No one's looking up – no one ever looks up," says the man responsible, Bobby Healy, the founder of the Dublin startup Manna Aero. People probably should take notice, because the drones are part of an effort to realise an ambition shared by Amazon, the Google sister company Wing and the Californian startup Zipline: instant, autonomous home delivery. Healy and his big-tech rivals hope drone delivery will change the course of the retail industry across Ireland, and then into the UK as soon as this year.