Croke Park residents say 7 planned concerts for 2022 is ‘unacceptable’

Gary Ibbotson 06 Oct 2021

Clonliffe Road residents have released a statement following the news that seven concerts might be held in Croke Park next year.

The Clonliffe and Croke Park Area Residents Association says it strongly objects to the “intensification” of use of Croke Park and the lack of consultation it has had with the organisers.

In its statement, the group says that “Croke Park has failed to meet commitments previously given to consult the local community and its representatives before submitting applications for extra events.”

Earlier this month, country music superstar Garth Brooks announced plans to host five concerts in the stadium next year.

Previous efforts by Brooks to play five dates at Croke Park were cancelled in 2014 after local residents strongly objected to the plans.

In the statement, which was published late last week, the group says that it is “greatly concerned about the impact of additional events.

“Bookending four to five concerts at either side of a busy GAA season is an unacceptable intensification of the use of the stadium.

“No other stadium in the world has imposed this type of burden on its local community.

“It is a total disrespect of the residents by Croke Park,” the group says.

The resident’s association is also objecting to the timing of the gigs – with two of seven concerts billed for Sunday nights.

“The currently proposed seven concerts, two of which are on Sunday nights, to be attended by over 560,000 people, would cause an unreasonable imposition on local residents,” the group says.

It would also “more than double the number of events permitted under Croke Park’s planning permission.”

It has not yet been announced which act will perform on the two other planned dates.

“It should be noted that the cordoned area around Croke Park is the only residential community in Ireland, where residents have to present a document or identification to be allowed to gain access to their homes when events and matches are taking place,” the statement reads.

“Following the 2014 rejection by DCC of an application for two additional Garth Brooks concerts, Croke Park stated that the only way forward for future events was to consult with local residents.

“There has been no consultation with C&CPARA or any other local residents’ groups prior to special licence applications on this occasion.

“The holding of seven concerts during 2022 would set an alarming precedent for further intensification, with the possibility of even more annual events bookending GAA seasons.

“The neighbourhoods of Jones Road, Clonliffe Road, St James Avenue and Foster Avenue in the immediate environs of the stadium are residential communities of mixed families, young and old.

“We have always maintained that the number of events in the stadium should be proportionate and kept at three per year as specified by An Bord Pleanala to protect the amenity of the local residential community.

“C&CPARA is also concerned that since the closure of Holy Cross College grounds, there is no longer a makeshift facility in the immediate area to park vehicles or buses bringing people to these events, and ask what steps are being taken to mitigate this.

“We suggest that it would be a fairer and more practical solution is to spread these concerts across different regions of the country.”

In recent weeks Dublin City Council approved an application to host three of the Garth Brooks concerts in Croke Park, for September 9, 10 and 11 but a decision on the other two performances has yet to be made.

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