Up Close with Oprah review: Global icon 'slays' a sold-out 3Arena

Oprah Winfrey marks her first time in Ireland with a one-night-only 'intimate' conversation

Pictured on stage at 3Arena Dublin is Oprah Winfrey in conversation with MC David Meade during her first live appearance in Ireland, as part of Up Close With Oprah Winfrey, presented by Pendulum Summit and Front Row Speakers. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography. 

Some 8,000 people packed into the 3Arena Dublin on Monday night. They were there to get up close and personal with global icon Oprah, who lands in that category of superstars who don’t require a second name – there is only one Oprah.

The show has been put together by Cork power couple Frankie Sheahan and Norma Murphy of Pendulum Summit, who had been trying to book Oprah for over a decade.

It was worth the wait. 

Before Oprah takes to the stage, we are treated to a performance by Niall Breslin and the Polaris Quartet. It’s part musical performance, part rallying cry. He finishes with a touching tribute to Dolly Parton – a poignant version of I Will Always Love You. The crowd approves.

Pictured on stage at 3Arena Dublin is Oprah Winfrey in conversation with MC David Meade during her first live appearance in Ireland, as part of Up Close With Oprah Winfrey, presented by Pendulum Summit and Front Row Speakers. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

And then it’s on to the reason we are all here. The crowd, overwhelmingly female, rise to their feet as one as Oprah steps onto the stage. With her signature arms-wide-open pose, she greets the audience.

“Hello Dublin! You all look so beautiful. You look like Easter Sunday morning in here.” 

This, she tells us, is her first time in Ireland. She’s soaking it up. The night before, she sampled a pint of Guinness in Doheny & Nesbitt. 

“Guinness is an acquired taste, but I’ll work on acquiring the taste.”

She’s being interviewed by Northern Irish keynote speaker David Meade. I say interviewed, but with a pro like Oprah it’s a case of plug her in and she’s off. Meade knows enough to let her go, feeding in questions and comments every now and then.

Pictured on stage at 3Arena Dublin is Oprah Winfrey in conversation with MC David Meade during her first live appearance in Ireland, as part of Up Close With Oprah Winfrey, presented by Pendulum Summit and Front Row Speakers. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography.

With someone like Oprah, who has been part of most of our lives for decades, it’s easy to think you know everything she might have to say, but the conversation is a revelation. Throughout the hour and a half, she dropped wisdom bombs left, right and centre.

“The chances of you being you are 4 trillion to one,” she reminds us. Although in Oprah’s case, it was even more remarkable odds than that. Her parents, who never married, only had sex one time and the result was, well, Oprah.

She talks about how she “bet on myself” her whole life. From her early days as a news anchor, “I hated the news”, and presenting her own chat show, to getting a call from Stephen Spielberg to say she’d got the part in The Colour Purple, she recalls key defining moments in her life, complete with her trademark inspirational nuggets.

Oprah Winfrey in conversation with MC David Meade during her first live appearance in Ireland, as part of Up Close With Oprah Winfrey, presented by Pendulum Summit and Front Row Speakers. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography. 

“What is your intention?” “Bad things lead to better things” “Life happens for you, not to you.” “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.” 

“Listen to the whispers.” From anyone else, these mantras might sound corny and trite but there’s an authenticity to Oprah that’s impossible to ignore. This is her lived experience; the challenges she faced were many, and her incredible success is undeniable.

She’s inspirational, engaging, warm, emotional, funny, and so wise. Sitting on a white armchair, she is relaxed and at ease. She leans forward as she imparts her wisdom and we lap it up.

She leaves us with one final call: “Turn up the volume in your life. Life is speaking to you right now. Just listen.” The standing ovation is genuine and heartfelt. Thousands of us leave the venue buzzing, with hearts (and heads) full.