Garth Brooks: Meeting held over planned Croke Park gigs

A residents association has said people living near Croke Park want to be left in peace as consultation continues on five possible Garth Brooks concerts in Dublin next year.

A meeting involving residents and organisers was held on Thursday night to discuss the proposals.

The new plans come seven years after the country music star pulled out of a sold out five-night run in Croke Park.

The stadium's director said views in the community are mixed.

Peter McKenna also said the concerts would be a positive thing for the community after two years of Covid restrictions, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has reported.

The broadcaster also said that many residents going into the meeting were in favour of the concerts although there were concerns about parking, traffic restrictions, noise and security.

It is expected an offer of community gain, similar to the €500,000 (£430,000) offered in 2014, would be made for next year's proposed concerts.

However, Colm Stephens. of the Clonliffe and Croke Park Area Residents Association. said the only community gain they wanted was to be left in peace.

After the meeting, residents said it was confirmed that there would be three Garth Brooks concerts next year with applications being made to hold another two.

Why are these concerts controversial?

In 2014, five sold out Garth Brooks concerts were cancelled just weeks before they due to be held in Croke Park.

About 400,000 fans had booked tickets for the shows.

However, Dublin City Council only granted permission for three gigs to go ahead, a move that promoted the country music star to declare he would play "all or none".

Croke Park, which has a seated capacity of over 82,000, sits among terraced housing

Initially two concerts were announced before three more dates were added due to demand.

However, residents who live near Croke Park, which is owned by the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association), objected and said they were not consulted before organisers put tickets on sale.

The GAA has an agreement with residents that a maximum of three concerts will be held each year at the stadium.

What is the current status with these concerts?

Dublin City Council has received planning permission submissions for three concerts on 9, 10 and 11 September next year.

Two extra dates are being sought for the following weekend.

On Thursday, residents met with Croke Park management and organisers Aiken Promotions. Gardaí (Irish police) and Dublin City Council staff also attended the meeting.

Two Ed Sheeran concerts are already planned for next year at Croke Park, meaning the venue could host up to seven gigs when three is the usual number.

Independent councillor Nial Ring told RTÉ that stadium management had given a commitment that next year would be an exception and not repeated in future years.

However, Mr Stephens, from the Clonliffe and Croke Park Area Residents Association, said it was enough for the community to accept the disruption caused by three concerts.