State papers: Hospitalisation of fans at 1995 Boyzone gig spurred changes to concert laws

Files also reveal that the Boyzone concert was lucky to be allowed to go ahead, as gardaí had considered taking out an injunction against the concert organisers over their failure to apply for a temporary dance licence. File photo: Stefan Rousseau

A Boyzone concert in Tallaght 30 years ago, which resulted in the hospitalisation of 12 music fans, led to the attorney general warning the justice minister of the “urgent need” to amend legislation around the staging of concerts.

Confidential files released by the National Archives show a dozen concert goers were hospitalised from “heat and hysteria” at a performance by Boyzone at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on July 31, 1995.

Following the incident, AG Dermot Gleeson wrote to Nora Owen in September 1995 to express concern that existing laws — the Public Dance Halls Acts 1935 — were outdated for dealing with music concerts where thousands of young people would be in attendance.

The concert happened just as Boyzone had entered a different level of stardom, with the group's single Love Me For A Reason peaking at number two in the UK charts in January of that year.

Boyzone’s third single, So Good, was released on the same day as the concert and ultimately reached number three in the UK charts as well as becoming the group’s third straight No 1 hit in Ireland.

An official Garda report on the concert by the Irish boy band, which was attended by 3,200 people, noted a number of music fans had fainted and had to be carried outside.

Most of those attending the concert were aged 12 to 16 years, with many having queued since 9am before the venue opened at 7pm, and “had not enough to drink during the day”, according to gardaí.

The report by Inspector Eamon Dolan said there were no serious injuries, with most admissions to hospital due to heat and hysteria. Gardai also stated that no arrests had been made and “no trouble makers were encountered.” 

However, they did record that ambulances had difficulty in accessing the venue “at the critical time” and advised that better planning would be needed for future events.

Files also reveal that the Boyzone concert was lucky to be allowed to go ahead, as gardaí had considered taking out an injunction against the concert organisers over their failure to apply for a temporary dance licence.

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A note by Inspector Patrick Finlay recorded the concern that the rights of access of gardaí to the venue were “seriously restricted” in the absence of such a licence.

However, a last-minute compromise was reached between legal representatives of the arena’s owners and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, which allowed gardaí to enter the venue during the concert at any time they considered it necessary.

At the same time, gardaí said they were still considering whether the owners of the National Basketball Arena should be prosecuted for not having a dance licence for the Boyzone concert.

They noted temporary dance licences had been applied for several “rave concerts” at the same venue that year.The report  also revealed that in advance of the concert, there had been “serious local objections to the arena running events of this nature".