The country’s most successful concert promoter, Denis Desmond, has added to his fortune by sharing a dividend totalling £5m (€5.9m) from his Festival Republic business last year.

Concert promoter Denis Desmond shared in a near- €17.3m dividend payout last year from a firm co-owned by his UK joint venture.

MCD-promoted music gigs attracted more than 1.2m fans in Ireland last year with a similar number of revellers expected in 2016, according to company chief Denis Desmond.

Numbers attending events promoted by Denis Desmond’s MCD Productions firm this year will not hit the heights of 2014 due to an anticipated quiet final quarter.