Croke Park’s greatest hits

Neil Diamond, 1984

The American singer visited Dublin for the first time in 1984. The crowd of 45,000 stood up and joined him singing his opening song ‘Street Life’. This was the megastar’s first time playing in Dublin. He performed some classics such as ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘Hello Again’. Diamond returned to Croke Park in 1992.

U2, 1985

U2 played to 60,000 fans in 1985 as part as ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ tour. Their fashion choices and hairstyles seem questionable today, but Bono and the lads poured their hearts out during this concert, performed just before their legendary Live Aid appearance. A documentary, ‘U2 Wide Awake in Dublin’, follows the band in the run up to the concert and the performance. They would return to the venue on many more occasions over the decades, including 2009 (pictured above).

Simple Minds, 1986

The crowd were packed in like sardines but that didn’t matter as the atmosphere was phenomenal. The Scottish pop/rock band were at the peak of their powers in the summer of 1986, with the success of ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ propelling them to dizzy new heights. The Waterboys and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were among the support acts.

Tina Turner, 1996

Tina Turner would have been 56 while doing this gig but was still well able to rock the stage. The ‘Wildest Dreams’ concert was part of Turner’s biggest ever tour. We’re pretty sure the crowd belted out tunes like ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ and ‘Simply the Best’. By all accounts, it was quite a night.

Garth Brooks, 1997

The country superstar was at the height of his popularity when he took Croke Park by storm. Brooks was scheduled to play in Dublin again in 2014 but all the gigs were cancelled. Dublin City Council refused licences for two of the shows due to the limit of three concerts a year at the venue.

Billy Joel and Elton John, 1998

These two have had some wonderful songs throughout the years. You can only imagine the amount of heart and soul that went into this performance. The pair sung ‘Piano Man’ as the encore – a fantastic end to a fantastic show.

The Police, 2007

This was one of the biggest shows for The Police after they reunited, performing in front of 82,000 people. The first time Sting and co played in Ireland was in Leixlip in 1980. They kicked off their set with a blistering version of ‘Message in a Bottle’.

Celine Dion, 2008

Singing sensation Celine Dion performed in front of 64,000 people in 2008. Tickets for this gig sold out in record time. She was supported by the opera boyband Il Divo, who received a rapturous welcome from the crowd.

Take That, 2011

Take That came to Dublin with their ‘Progress’ tour in 2011. This was the first time the band had played together in 16 years so expectations were high. The stage set up was extravagant with flashing lights and a huge colourful statue.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2012

One of the best live bands in the world, the Red Hot Chili Peppers didn’t disappoint when they came to Croker in 2012. The LA funk rockers took to the stage against a psychedelic backdrop and played a brilliant set drawn from their extensive back catalogue.

Westlife, 2012

After 14 years they said goodbye to their loving fans with an emotional farewell concert. There were tears from the both the crowd and the lads on stage as the band were joined by their parents and children. They gave it their all for their final performance with songs from across the years like ‘Flying Without Wings’ and ‘You Raise Me Up´.

One Direction, 2014

One of the biggest boybands of all time came to Dublin in 2014. The lads sold out three nights with a whopping combined attendance of 235,000 people.  The screams of the predominantly female crowd, coupled with the loud, colourful firework displays throughout the entire show, made for an electric night.

Ed Sheeran, 2015

This one man band and his guitar blew Croke Park away in 2015. A raw performance, no costume changes and the simplicity of it all made for an unforgettable night. Glen Hansard and Kodaline performed with Ed on the night, belting out some Irish traditional songs like ‘Molly Malone’ and ‘The Auld Triangle’.

Springsteen, 2016

Arguably the biggest rock star on the planet, the man known as The Boss played for a marathon three and a half hours. Bruce came out ready to rock and was full of life for the entire performance. Bono joined him on stage for a heartfelt duet of ‘Because the Night’ towards the end of the show.

Coldplay, 2017

To make the gig even more memorable, the crowd were given a band to wear on their wrists that lit up at special moments throughout the performance. Chris Martin’s amazing voice shined though in every song, including hits such as ‘Yellow’.

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