EXCLUSIVE from PETER KELLY, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT at Croke Park, Dublin
Garth-Mania is building up across Ireland as the iconic country superstar prepares for his musical ‘extravaganza’ in Dublin.
The Oklahoman singer touches down on emerald shores this week to rapturous Irish fans, having sold almost half a million tickets for his five sell-out Croke Park gigs.
The concerts were announced in November 2021 and went from the advertised twin events on September 9 and 10 to added performances on the 11, 16 and 17th. The first of the five shows will begin this Friday in the renowned capital city Gaelic football stadium.
The 60 year-old US country music star is set to spend 10 days in Ireland playing multiple shows, for the first time in 25 years.
This is despite the previous controversial debacle of the cancellation of all of his scheduled appearances in 2014 at Croke Park.
Eight years ago around 300 local residents had protested to Dublin City Council officials about the local disruption of the events, which were then restricted to three. The singer had refused to perform unless all five nights were granted. At one stage, Taoiseach Enda Kenny was asked to intervene and when negotiations broke down, Brooks withdrew from Ireland leaving over 400,000 distraught fans who received refunds.
However this time approval has been granted for the full five shows, and ticket sales have reached the sell-out stage in what is described as potentially the biggest musical event in modern Irish history.
Irish-American fans from the United States will be joining counterparts from 30 countries at Croke Park for the multiple performances. A large-scale Garda Siochana police cordon has been deployed around the Drumcondra stadium to manage the unprecedented crowd sizes and a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fans’ behavior will be observed.
Concert event controller Eamon O’Boyle told a press briefing this week that a special stage has been built and transported from the US to showcase Garth Brooks’ performances to the enormity of fans gathered. It is designed to be “pretty spectacular” he told reporters.
Providing a teaser to fans ahead of the shows, Garth Brooks told social media that “the stage is going to be long ways, going out into the crowd. They have to elevate the stage so people at the back can see.” he said. “This is going to be elevated quite a lot. We do confetti off the rig as well, it lowers up and down. This thing is monstrous and it’s set in stone.”
The Brooks events are estimated to be worth up to $50m to the Irish economy. Hotel occupancy in Dublin is at full capacity at the weekend, with rooms priced for up to $1,200 each.
Promoter Mr O’Boyle added: “Garth Brooks has become something of an icon in his own right in Ireland.
“400,000 people over five days and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think he could have sold so many more tickets, such is his popularity across the country.
“Everybody wants a ticket. That’s the nature of it. This is probably the biggest cultural event in Ireland in the history of music.”
SEE GARTH BROOKS FULL CONCERT EXCLUSIVE FROM DUBLIN’S CROKE PARK in next week’s Irish Examiner USA