Garth ‘fever’ sweeps Tyrone

GARTH-MANIA is building up across Tyrone as the iconic country superstar prepares for a spectacular musical extravaganza in Dublin.

Reputed thousands of devotees from the Red Hand county and west of the Bann are set to descend upon Dublin joining fellow super fans from all Irish counties and 30 countries to celebrate the US singer’s return this week.

Translink has arranged extra bus services across Tyrone and the rural west with capacity increased on its Enterprise train service in anticipation of the mass exodus south from Omagh, Strabane, Dungannon and surrounding towns.

The record-smashing Oklahoman is expected to discreetly touch down at Dublin Airport today (Thursday) as ravenous fans pocket almost half a million coveted tickets purchased for his five sell-out Croke Park gigs.

The concerts were announced in November 2021 from the advertised twin events on September 9 and 10 with added performances on the 11, 16 and 17 following exceptional demand. The first of the five shows will begin this Friday in the iconic Dublin Gaelic football venue.

The 60-year-old US country music star is set to spend two weeks in Ireland visiting as yet undisclosed locations in between his multiple shows held for the first time in 25 years. Brooks previously played Belfast’s King’s Hall and The Point in Dublin in 1997 as a fresh faced 35-year-old.

Brooks’ long-awaited return follows the notorious cancellation of all of his scheduled appearances in July 2014 at Croke Park. Some 200 local residents had protested to Dublin City Council officials about the local disruption of the events, then restricted to three. The singer had refused to perform unless all five nights were granted. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was asked to intervene, and Brooks withdrew from Ireland when negotiations broke down, leaving over 400,000 distraught fans who received refunds.

However, this time approval has been granted for the full five shows, and ticket sales have reached the sell-out stages in what is described as the biggest musical event in modern Irish history.

A large-scale Garda cordon has been deployed around the Drumcondra stadium to manage unprecedented crowd sizes and a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fans’ behaviour will be observed.

Concert event controller, Eamon O’Boyle revealed that a special US-built stage will showcase Brooks’ performances to the enormity of gathered fans. It is designed to be ‘pretty spectacular’, he told reporters.

Providing a teaser to fans ahead of the shows, Garth Brooks told social media, “The stage is going to be long ways, going out into the crowd. They have to elevate the stage so people at the back can see.

“This is going to be elevated quite a lot. We do confetti off the rig as well, it lowers up and down. This thing is monstrous and it’s set in stone.”

The Brooks events are estimated to be worth up to £50m to the Irish economy north and south.

Hotel occupancy in Dublin is at full capacity at the weekend, with remaining rooms priced up to £1,200 each.

Promoter Mr O’Boyle added, “Garth Brooks has become something of an icon in his own right in Ireland.

“400,000 people over five days and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think he could have sold so many more tickets, such is his popularity across the country.

“Everybody wants a ticket. That’s the nature of it. This is probably the biggest cultural event in Ireland in the history of music. At its most basic, it’s five All Ireland finals coming together.”

By Peter Kelly