Kenny was sent 1,000 emails on Garth gigs

The Taoiseach received up to 1,000 emails from Garth Brooks fans following the recent controversy over whether he would play his five planned Croke Park concerts.

The bulk of the correspondence asks Enda Kenny to intervene after Dublin City Council announced, just weeks before the July concerts were due to take place, that it would only grant licences for three of the five concerts.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act to TV3 News show that in one email to Enda Kenny, a fan wrote: “I want to ask you to do something to save this country from a complete shambles. The chance is there and you need to grab it… We listened to you when you were begging for votes and granted your wish, now it’s time for you to pay us back.”

At a press conference at Nashville during the controversy, Brooks said that “he’d get down on his hands and knees” to beg the Taoiseach to allow him perform his five gigs.

Most of the letter writers thought Mr Kenny should intervene to override the decision of the council.

One letter writer said: “I would argue that the morale of the country is at risk here… I would call on you as Taoiseach to do everything in your power to make an exception for these concerts.”

Another set out: “I am writing to you in desperation to ask you to intervene in this disaster… you can’t stand idly by and let it fall away… Think about the emotional lift that this will give the country” while another implored: “By changing this law it would bring great happiness to many and the country as a whole…”

Inevitably, there were some who were horrified at how the licence refusal was being perceived by some as a national scandal.

One member of the public wrote: “This Brooks debacle began as amusing but has quickly descended into an embarrassment. Why on EARTH is the office of An Taoiseach getting involved? The planning laws were breached by Croke Park, Mr Brooks and Aiken Promotions. End of Story.”

In response to the very many letters, the Office of the Taoiseach criticised the stakeholders for allowing the situation to escalate.

“This issue has not been handled well by the stakeholders involved… The cancellation of these concerts is a loss to this country not only in terms of the impact on the goodwill of Garth Brooks fans but also for the economy.”

But the office warned it was not appropriate for the Taoiseach to intervene in planning matters and said the minister for the environment had been asked to examine the concert licensing system to prevent such problems arising again.