'This is my highlight of the year': Cork fans hope to be in Paradise at Coldplay
All aboard the Coldplay train: Sharon Hannigan with her twin sons James and Scott and Emma Dunlea. Picture: Noel Sweeney
“I couldn’t sleep last night I was so excited, this is my highlight of the year," die-hard Coldplay fan Sharon Hannigan said before boarding a train from Cork to Dublin for the sold-out gig.
Coldplay will play four nights in Croke Park between Thursday and Monday, with tickets for all four shows selling out shortly after going on sale.
Ms Hannigan was among the scores of fans leaving Kent Station for the capital to see British rockers, who last played on these shores in 2017.
She and her twin sons, James and Scott, and Scott’s girlfriend Emma Dunlea all managed "very luckily" to get Coldplay tickets through a friend of Ms Hannigan's.
“I’m a lifelong fan of Chris Martin, I loved Coldplay years before they were famous. All I’m dreaming of is that he’ll bring me up on stage, but I know that’s never going to happen!”
Speaking about having to travel to Dublin for the concert, Ms Hannigan said that if Cork had the long-promised events centre, the Rebel County could pull in more major acts like Coldplay and people in the south could be treated to such surprises too, without having to always travel to Dublin.
“But we'll be buzzing anyway coming home.
“It's been a long year waiting for it. You're talking about getting tickets, transport, getting time off work. It's a huge commitment. But it's well worth it.”
Her son’s girlfriend, Emma Dunlea, was most looking forward to seeing Ms Hannigan’s excitement and happiness at the concert.
“I'm just so excited to see her. She’s a major fan,” Ms Dunlea said smiling.
Wearing a buttermilk yellow silky top and skirt co-ord to echo her favourite Coldplay song, ‘Yellow’, Alex Butler and her mum Tracy, both from Commons Road in Cork, were stopped by other women in the train station admiring their outfits.
“My son, Craig, got us the tickets for Christmas. He’s in Sydney and we miss him so much,” Tracy said.
“I can't wait to just be there [at the concert] now,” said Alex, a recent UCC graduate.
The mother and daughter booked on Iarnród Éireann’s special 12.40am train home after they were quoted €480 for the cheapest hotel room available in Dublin tonight.
Late-night trains, leaving Dublin for Cork at 12.40am, have been put on for every night of Coldplay’s concerts this week.
Demand for the service was so great the largest trains have been used to carry the maximum number of passengers. All of those trains are now sold out.
With a high line of orderly people waiting for tickets and trains, Kent Station's acting station manager Brian O’Farrell said "the queue is longer than for the All-Ireland”.
Although the vast majority of people now book the train online, some people, particularly tourists and the elderly, still come to the station to buy their tickets, Mr O’Farrell said.
“A lot of people don’t realise Coldplay are playing today, so the people queuing for the train now are really general travellers."
But Iarnród Éireann will do its best to get those with urgent need to get to Dublin — like flights or medical appointments — onto trains today.
“We’ll do our best to take care of people,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“It’s going to be a busy day.”
Craig Donnellan from Douglas was grateful for the late train after being quoted hundreds of euros for a hotel for the night in the capital
“Prices for hotel rooms were ridiculous — €400 to €500 a night — so it’s great being able to get the train.
“I’m a lifetime Coldplay fan. ‘Yellow’ is my favourite song. They better play that today or I’ll want my money back," he joked.
Another mother/daughter duo Aoife O’Mahony and Teresa Geasley were lucky to miss out on the ticket rush as Ms Geasley's uncle managed to secure tickets for them.
“A few of Teresa’s friends couldn’t get tickets at all,” Ms O’Mahony said.
“In the office at work, everyone was trying to buy them when they went on sale but they sold out so quickly that only four out of 20 managed to get them.”
Meanwhile, the gig will be a first for Alanna Weir and Ben Heffernan, who said: “We’ve only been to Croke Park for GAA games before".
"The atmosphere for this will be different altogether,” Mr Heffernan added.
The couple booked a hotel in Leopardstown for two nights for €350 — significantly less than the €400-a-night-plus charges in the city centre.
“It’s only 25 minutes on the train into the city centre,” Ms Weir said.
