Garth Brooks rumoured for Croke Park dates in 2022
Country star Garth Brooks performs on stage during the 2020 Gershwin Prize Honoree's Tribute Concert at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. But will he finally tread the boards at Croker?
It was the country-rock jamboree that nearly devolved into an international incident, over dashed demands for an extended run of dates. It was a time of excitement, uproar and outrage among over 400,000 disappointed event-goers in the summer 2014 - and now, it looks like Irish society at large is headed for The Dance again.Â
Rumours have broken via Virgin Media News this evening that superstar Garth Brooks is set to attempt another run of Croke Park gigs next year, with the GAA and Aiken Promotions declining to answer inquiries from the station's Dublin newsdesk.
The station's sources say that planning is 'at an advanced stage' for three dates, with options for two more dates on a second weekend, depending on sales.
That would address the crux of Brooks' issues with previous gig announcements in 2014 - when Croke Park residents objected to an extended run of gigs after an agreed quota of outdoor stadium shows had been fulfilled.
The issues caused the singer to ultimately withdraw from his bookings, leaving hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the island disappointed, and the city's businesses out of potential pocket to the tune of millions.
It was an extended political headache, going as far as Brooks asking then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny to intervene in local planning and licencing laws as a matter of urgency, while the matter was discussed at Leader's Questions in the Dáil, raised by then-Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley.
Rumours of Irish 2022 dates for the singer follow several US stadium gig cancellations this year, in the wake of fresh Covid-19 outbreaks in major live-event markets.
They come as the Country2Country festival at 3Arena this evening announced its return for March 11-13 of next year, featuring genre headliners like Luke Combs, Darius Rucker and Miranda Lambert - with tickets going on sale Friday morning.
