Michael Moynihan: No Sparks Fly in effort to secure tickets for Taylor Swift in Dublin

With the phone off and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on, Michael Moynihan went about getting tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert in Dublin 

Shameful confession: The process went smoothly, and four tickets were purchased by 11.03am.

Phone off. Devotional candle lit. Laptop open at Ticketmaster, with a countdown visible.

24 minutes. 23 minutes.

Background music? Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). What else?

This was the household atmosphere at about 10.37am this morning, before presale opened for next summer’s Taylor Swift concerts in Dublin. Most of the tickets go on sale next week, with fans bracing themselves for a digital battle — in France earlier this week online ticket sales had to be paused, while there was general chaos with initial ticket sales in the US.

However, thanks to the dedication to the Swift cause shown by two occupants of this house, we were ahead of the curve and poised to strike this morning.

11 minutes. 10 minutes.

Taylor Swift performs in Kansas City, Missouri. Picture: John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

When the singer released her new album, Midnights, last October those two occupants insisted on a physical CD from her website as well as a download. The man of the house opposed this bitterly at the time, advocating against the purchase on the grounds of a pre-existing Spotify subscription, but they dug their feet in. Swifties in action.

When European dates for the Midnights tour were announced recently, it emerged anyone who had bought a CD from Swift’s website would get early access to concert tickets.

An inordinate amount of smugness was projected around the house at that point in time.

Two minutes. One minute.

Which brings us to the tableau at the kitchen table, one likely to be repeated all over Ireland next week. Fingers paused over the keys, waiting for the laptop screen to indicate that we had gone from the ‘waiting room’ into the ‘queue’, and eventually to ‘shop for tickets’...

Shameful confession: there was little enough drama in the end. The process went smoothly, and four tickets were purchased by 11.03am.

Accommodation in Dublin for the night of our visit is an issue for another day (though I note Tourism Minister Catherine Martin seeking a report on hotel prices this week — there were allegations hotels hiked prices when Swift’s concerts were announced).

I grandly announced at home I would now be available as a ticket consultant to friends and colleagues, though one occupant advised against lording it over the ticketless as it would make me “unpopular at work. Or more unpopular.” (More?) 

They specifically warned me against quoting one of the great woman’s song titles. Which is a pity. You’re On Your Own, Kid fits the bill perfectly.