Croke Park residents assured seven gigs in one year is 'an exception'

Garth Brooks is due to play five shows at the venue, in addition to two dates already booked for Ed Sheeran. Picture: Getty Images

Croke Park residents have been told the seven gigs due to be held at the stadium in Dublin next year will be "an exception".

Garth Brooks is due to play three shows at the venue, in addition to two dates already booked for Ed Sheeran.

Senior Croke Park officials, including stadium boss Peter McKenna, met over 100 locals this evening to give further details on the plans.

Speaking after the meeting, one resident said he was happy for the plans to proceed.

"I'm not really going to object to a number of concerts in one given year if it is a case of 'Look, we've just come out of lockdown. It's an exception, after that we'll go back to no more than three or five.'

"Peter McKenna seems to be assuring us that that is the case and that is really what I wanted to get out of tonight."

However, not all residents were on board with the plans to hold seven gigs at the stadium between April and September 2022.

It emerged earlier this month that negotiations were underway for Brooks to potentially play three gigs at Croke Park next September, with the potential for further dates to be added.

An application for two more dates, on September 16 and 17, 2022, has also been received by the Dublin City Council.

Last week, it was announced that Ed Sheeran is slated to play Croke Park on April 23 and 24 of next year.

In 2014, Croke Park residents objected to an extended run of gigs after an agreed quota of outdoor stadium shows had been fulfilled.

The issues caused Brooks to ultimately withdraw from his bookings, leaving hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the island disappointed, and the city's businesses out of potential pocket to the tune of millions.

It was an extended political headache, going as far as Brooks asking then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny to intervene in local planning and licencing laws as a matter of urgency, while the matter was discussed at Leader's Questions in the Dáil, raised by then-Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley.