Cork set for bumper weekend of Ed Sheeran, choral festival, and sports galore

23/04/2022

The banks of the Lee are set to rock this weekend as Ed Sheeran kicks off what's set to be a bumper bank holiday weekend in Cork.

Up to 80,000 music fans are due to see the British singer-songwriter, who has sold more than 26m albums and 100m singles worldwide, play two spectacular in-the-round gigs with rotating stage at Páirc Uí Chaoimhon Thursday and Friday.

Munster have a rugby clash at Musgrave Park and Cork City FC also play at home on Friday night, while thousands more music fans are due in the city for the Cork International Choral Festival.

Kevin Herlihy, president of the Cork Business Association, said everyone in the city is gearing up for a special weekend.

“It’s fantastic to see — we’ve had a few long and hard years with Covid and lockdowns but now, finally, the city’s businesses, hotels, bars, retail, and restaurants, are all gearing up for what’s expected to be an absolute bumper weekend,” he said.

Hotels are reporting near full occupancy and the hospitality sector has predicted a multimillion-euro boost for the local economy.

Ed Sheeran concert policing

Details of the massive policing operation around the two Ed Sheeran concerts were unveiled yesterday.

Garda Inspector James Hallahan, head of roads policing and major events in Cork City, said an inner traffic cordon will be thrown around the stadium and immediate residential areas from 10am on both Thursday and Friday, with access only for residents with valid ID. An outer cordon will be in effect from 3pm with a full lockdown in place from 5pm.

He said gardaí want people to enjoy what will be a family-friendly event and that they will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to public drinking and antisocial behaviour.

After the timing of the concerts forced the relocation of next week’s Cork-Kerry Munster senior football clash to Páirc Úi Rinn, the head of Cork GAA, Kevin O'Donovan, said lessons have been learned.

Mr O’Donovan insisted that the venue has to operate on a commercial basis and decisions on future concerts will be made on a case-by-case basis.

“The Ed Sheeran concert is a very unique event,” he said. “The fact that the stage is in the centre of the pitch means that we are effectively growing a new pitch after the event and we will need a six-week window.

The 'in-the-round' stage set-up for Ed Sheeran's gig at  Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Larry Cummins

“After the Elton John concert [in July], his stage will be at the goalmouth so we’ll be replacing the sod thereafter that and we will be able to play three weeks after that.

“So Ed Sheeran’s concerts had a very particular context at a very particular time that led to a set of circumstances that left us in a difficult position. 

I am not hiding and I have said it publicly — this facility has to work on a commercial basis.

“There is a significant debt on us, we are not a profit-making organisation. We have no shareholders and any penny we make goes back into our games at grassroots level."

Mr O'Donovan said as long as there is a debt, it has an impact.

"When we make a commercial decision here we have to think of it in the round in terms of the impact on our coaching programmes and primary school — not just the impact on intercounty teams."

Cork GAA chief executive Kevin O'Donovan: 'Ed Sheeran’s concerts had a very particular context at a very particular time that led to a set of circumstances that left us in a difficult position.' Picture: Jim Coughlan.

The stadium will host three more concerts in the coming months: Elton John in July and two Westlife gigs in August.

Discussions are ongoing with concert promoters about next year.

Ed Sheeran heads for Thomond Park on May 5 and 6, where Munster's home Champions Cup quarter-final with Toulouse, which was due to be played in the Shannonside stadium, has been moved to the Aviva Stadium on May 6.