Whether we want to or not, we all remember the drama around the Garth Brooks Croke Park gigs that never were.
To be honest, it was one of the most divisive debates this country has ever seen. Who knew an American country singer could make Irish society erupt the way it did?
Well, there is going to be a documentary on the whole scenario tomorrow evening on RTÉ, five years on from all the madness.
Brooks was set to take to the stage in Croke Park back in 2014, having not played in Ireland since 1997. But when two nights turned into five, concerns were raised about how many concerts Brooks was actually permitted to play in the stadium.
Even though over 400,000 people had tickets, organisers actually didn’t have the licence to put on five nights at Croke Park. The stadium only has planning permission for three such special events a year, a limit that had already been reached in 2014.
Well, chaos ensued and the country was in turmoil. There were demonstrations on the streets from people who wanted the gigs to go ahead. I joke you not. But, the concerts were eventually cancelled.
Garth Brooks has confirmed in a statement that he will not play any concerts at Croke Park this summer
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 14, 2014
T’was all a bit mental, so it’s only right that there is a documentary made about it.
The documentary will detail exactly when and why the gigs were cancelled, and what happened after.
It will air Tuesday, May 28 at 7pm on RTÉ One.