Blistering final set as Bono bids farewell

Greeted by a rapturous audience, the man who mingles with world leaders was undeniably emotional as he performed to his Irish public.

Arms outstretched, letting the rain wash over him, he sang out to the crowd: “there’s nowhere else I want to be today but my hometown”.

The famous four legged claw – 50m high, 58m wide and 47m deep – in this Dublin leg of the 360° tour only gave the crowd a 270° view – but no matter.

It made no difference where you stood, the circular video screens gave everyone clear vision and, somehow, created a feeling of intimacy in this giant of a venue.

The claw itself seemed like a spaceship that had crashed landed in Croke Park, bright strobes of light cast into the night sky. Somehow, it made Bono’s video link-up with space station astronauts the most natural thing in the world.

Like the previous two nights, Breathe opened the show, followed by three more songs from the latest album, including a powerful Magnificent.

Then it was back to the older hits – a triumphant Beautiful Day, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and later the Unforgettable Fire and One. And so, after a blistering two hour set, Bono bid farewell to the best audience in the world.

Meanwhile, Croke Park residents are to stage demonstrations outside the ground today in protest at the disruption which the U2 concerts have caused over the past two weeks.

Members of the Croke Park Residents’ Alliance claim they have suffered days of heavy trucks and fans queuing for concerts in their neighbourhood in the build-up to the group’s three concerts which were seen by almost 250,000 people.

The organisation’s spokesman Patrick Gates said local residents wanted to highlight the “despicable” way they had been treated by Croke Park officials, Dublin City Council and the concert promoters. He also accused the GAA of “pure greed” in agreeing to stage the U2 concerts.

“They have taken no account of the impact they have on us.

They shouldn’t be working around the clock after already having three concerts in four days,” said Mr Gates.

The group plans to run a go-slow protest to disrupt lorries and trucks involved in the removal of the vast Claw stage erected for the band’s homecoming gigs.

The first protest was due to take place at 1am early this morning followed by another at 7am and a third demonstration at 6pm.

Any stoppage at the dismantling of the giant stage could cause serious problems for the GAA as the sports body is already running to a tight deadline to have the pitch restored to full working order in time for next weekend’s football quarter-finals at Croke Park.

U2’s road crew as well as Croke Park staff are expected to operate around the clock over the next few days to remove the concert rigging and reinstate the turf.

Work on the removal of the stage began as soon as U2 finished their final encore at about 11pm last night.