MCD to complain to Garda Ombudsman over concert inquiry

Music promoters MCD are expected to make a formal complaint to the Garda Ombudsman Commission this week over the findings of a Garda inquiry into last month’s Swedish House Mafia concert.

Nine people were stabbed and 33 arrested at the Phoenix Park concert by the electronic dance music trio on Jul 7.

On Friday, gardaí issued a statement claiming they had warned MCD about concerns regarding alcohol sales, gate-opening times, and security ahead of the event.

But MCD has called the report “unbalanced” and is planning to take further action, including calling for the report to be published in full. “We are calling for a full public inquiry into what happened in the Phoenix Park,” said a spokesperson.

Meanwhile, MCD co- founder Denis Desmond has confirmed music festival Oxegen will return next year, but on a smaller scale. He said it will be a two-day event, instead of the usual three-day extravaganza.

“Oxegen is an expensive gig to run,” he said. “It is also the line-up that sells. If you don’t have the line-up, you won’t sell the tickets.

“In Britain, you have the BBC spending taxpayers’ money to put on all these open air shows. That’s very hard to compete with.”

The three Phoenix Park gigs — The Stone Roses, Swedish House Mafia and Snow Patrol — were reportedly held to replace Oxegen this year while security costs for the Punchestown event were reviewed.

At the last Hot Press music seminar in Dublin, Mr Desmond’s wife, Caroline Downey Desmond, that claimed the cost of hiring gardaí and private security for Oxegen was astronomical.

Meanwhile, Vince Power of Music Festivals is seeking fresh funding for his firm and has issued a profit warning as the festival market in Ireland and the UK reaches what he believes is saturation point.

He said festivals had been hit by weaker than expected ticket sales. Music Festivals made a loss of €800,000 last year. It runs the Hop Farm Festival in Britain and Benicassim in Spain.