DUBLIN City Councillor Nial Ring (Ind) has welcomed the return of U2 to Croke Park in the summer and says it is much needed positive news for an area of Dublin that has been hampered by recent violence.
U2 will be returning to their hometown on July 22 for the first time since 2015 and will be touring around Europe this summer to mark the 30th anniversary of ‘The Joshua Tree’, the album that drove the group to the top tier of world music.
The band has been filling out the venue at Ballybough for decades now, with their first concert at the home of GAA taking place in 1985 during their ‘Unforgettable Fire Tour’.
This year will also welcome a date from the Chris Martin-led Coldplay, where some, including the magazine ‘The New Yorker’, have made parallels with the Irish rockers.
The band said they are delighted to return home to Dublin and can’t wait to perform every song from the memorable album.
Lead singer Bono, who is originally from Finglas, said: “I’m up for it, if our audience is as excited as we are, it’s gonna be a great night. Especially when we play at home, Croke Park, it’s where the album was born 30 years ago.”
Cllr Ring said that organisers and the local community have learned valuable lessons from mistakes made in the past, especially from the infamous Garth Brooks saga, with the consultation process between the two now making dealings for concerts much smoother.
“Obviously they’ll have to put in a stage and put in work time to get everything sorted, maybe blocking off roads for a couple of hours here and there, but all that process is now discussed thoroughly before agreement,” he told Northside People.
Looking at the big picture, Cllr Ring hailed the good news for the area which has been in the media for the wrong reasons of late and said the band can expect a proud homecoming.
“Overall, the local businesses obviously welcome concerts and I think in context of the negative connotations with the north inner city, like within 100 yards of Croke Park, two of the recent murders took place, this is very positive,” he added.
“We think it is great that they (U2) are coming back to the northside and they can be assured of a great welcome back from not only their fans but also from the local community and businesses.”
REPORT: Brein McGinn