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Mark Humphrey

Peter Aiken on way to US for Garth Brooks 'crisis talks'

Meanwhile, legal proceedings are said to have begun against Aiken Promotions and Croke Park to stop all the concerts going ahead.

CONCERT PROMOTER PETER Aiken is said to be on the way to the US to meet Garth Brooks to try and bring a conclusion to the ongoing concert drama.

Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey told Newstalk this morning that Aiken was on the way after emails and phone calls between the promoter and the country singer failed to lead to a solution.

At the weekend, Aiken had said he hoped an answer to the situation would be found by today, but so far no solution has been forthcoming.

Last night, Dublin City Councillors voted in favour of all concerts going ahead. However, an event licence decision made under the Planning & Development Act cannot be amended or appealed.

The council said it hopes that Brooks will avail of the licence granted and play the three shows he has permission for.

Legal action

Another twist in the tale came today when a resident living in the Croke Park vicinity instructed Fay and Company solicitors to begin legal proceedings against Aiken Promotions and Croke Park stadium.

A spokesperson for the resident said that this was because the concerts were “arranged without any prior consultation” and that “they would greatly interfere with this person and the local community’s quality of life including their privacy and property rights”.

The Sunday Times reported last week that there were alleged fake planning objections to the Garth Brooks gigs.

Today, the Irish Daily Mail said it has “proved conclusively” that identities of residents were used on fake letters to Dublin City Council, and that detectives are investigating.

Read: Aiken: ‘The complete misrepresentation of Garth Brooks is scandalous’>

Read: ‘The Garth Brooks ship leaves tonight’, but city manager won’t budge on licensing decision.

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75 Comments
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    Mute IrishGravyTrain
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:18 AM

    Role on august and for this whole debacle to be consinged to Reeling in the Years.

    416
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    Mute Leopold Dedalus
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:31 AM

    They’ll have to make a one-hour-special at this rate.

    141
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    Mute Shayno O'Donnchadha
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:43 AM
    35
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    Mute fionn mac cumhaill
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:02 AM

    I heard the independents want to request a independent inquiry to investigate the debacle of brookgate… Wallace and Daly are extremely P’d they wont get to wear their stilettos

    14
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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:08 AM

    Fionn, was that a typo for Wallace and Gromit ?

    10
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    Mute Donie Keyes
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:32 PM

    “You’ve been Brooke’d!”

    1
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    Mute Begley Ian
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    Jul 8th 2014, 3:25 PM

    The Gareth Brooks incident will appear on the show when the music goes silent.

    1
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    Mute Smidgen Dublin
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:23 AM

    I’m (well) over 35 years of age; I don’t have (& cannot afford) private health insurance. I am keep coming out in an increasingly vicious skin rash every time I read the words ‘Garth Brooks’. I can’t afford to go to the doctor and get a prescription so it’s cheaper for me, and better for my health, to stop reading The Journal until 30th July.

    151
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    Mute Massimo returns
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:42 AM

    It’s farcical at this stage his much airtime this story is getting.

    32
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    Mute Colm Healy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:21 PM

    Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you need to read it!

    17
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    Mute ÉiRed
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:34 PM

    Colm it’s a bit hard not to come across a Garth Brooks story at this stage. People are clicking into the stories to say they are getting sick of seeing them. Where are they meant to complain, a story about a Sesame Street cake?

    16
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    Mute Very fond of
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:22 AM

    It’s being reported that Garth Brooks just blew his nose. Any updates Aoife ??

    146
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    Mute James Murphy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:30 AM

    Now he’s wiping his………

    39
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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:21 AM

    Couldn’t he just PM him on Facebook?

    111
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    Mute James Murphy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:02 PM

    You ok hun xxxxxx

    66
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    Mute P O Leary
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:19 AM

    Im giving up the journal until the end of the month. Im sick of this whole mess. Lets move on people.

    90
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:43 PM

    Yeah! Sod the 400,000.

    2
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    Mute Ross Casey
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:19 PM

    They’ll get their money back.

    6
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:22 PM

    Ross, they don’t want their money back. Do you seriously think the 70,000 flying into Ireland just want their €70 back? What about the other €700 they spent getting here and the hotel bills? Will they get that back?

    What about the €2,500,000 loss to the GAA. How many pitch and changing room upgrades for teenager players would that pay for?

    4
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    Mute Ross Casey
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:26 PM

    What about it?
    They shouldn’t be here yet.
    Hotels shouldn’t be booked without 24 hour cancellation.
    I’ve no time for that horrible organisation that is the GAA so if it closed entirely tomorrow I think it would be a huge leap forward for the country.
    On a parochial level the GAA causes bitterness, feuds and isolation.

    7
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 3:00 PM

    Ross, “horrible organisation that is the GAA”, you’re stone mad.

    1
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    Mute Were Jammin
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:32 AM

    “Peter Aiken on way to US for Garth Brooks ‘crisis talks’”

    Good. Keep the greedy ba$tard. He was able to sell tickets for the initial 2/3 and stage the whole thing for a profit. Then he chances his arm with another two, gets turned down, and then claims that he’ll all of a sudden make a loss?

    The fans have been treated atrociously by the promoter, and whatever the outcome I hope they don’t hand him money for one of his events ever again.

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    Mute Anthony Mulcahy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:59 AM

    Show me ANY promoter that treats the punter with a bit of respect…. Fees on concert tickets are astronomical right across the board… And for what? Pure profit…. As someone commented earlier about this promoters trip to the US for crisis talks; “keep the greedy basta*d”…. Shambolic… The whole thing

    16
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    Mute Eoghan Hickey
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:43 PM

    I find Aiken to be alright as far is it goes. As an alternative to Ticketmaster there is always tickets.ie which charge about €1/ €0.50 per transaction which is fairly decent (beats the poxy charge per ticket).

    I think most of the Harmonic stuff is done through them (open to correction). It often it falls to the venue, band, etc. as well as the promoters to how the tickets are sold.

    Also, €60/€70 for a big concert isn’t really gouging considering the demand for the tickets.

    1
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    Mute CZL
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:09 AM

    This month late at night
    The residents may lie awake and hear him screeching
    Theyve lost their peaceful dreams
    So they turn out the light, and head on to Croke Park
    And the thought crosses their mind
    hes here again tomorrow morning
    Would they ever doubt the GAA lied
    about him from the start

    If the concert never comes
    Will he know how much they loved him
    DCC tried in every way, there were headlines every day
    and there wasnt only one
    and If our time with Garth is through
    and we must face this month without him
    will they love they gave him in the past
    ever be enough to last
    If the concert never comes.

    79
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    Mute The Hungry Boards
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:24 AM

    Ah first world problems,when I think of what must actually be going on out there in the world it saddens me even more that people put such focus on something so trivial as a concert.
    TheJournal has become the Adrian Kennedy Phone show of online news,probably below ‘the Sun’ for actual news at this stage.

    71
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    Mute phil
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:07 AM

    This Croke Park residents committee seems like every other residents or town development committee in the country. A few muppets self appointed to it and those with different views not notified or invited to meetings. From what i can see the committee are in the vast minority in the area. If fake objections have been lodged i sincerely hope those responsible will face tough penalties

    The Croke Park residents minority have objected to any development of the stadium including floodlighting, Soccer and Rugby and now can pay to go the high court to object to something that will bring the surrounding areas millions. At the end of the day they had opportunity to sell their houses for inflated values over during the boom if the living their was so bad.

    Now any future events including this country hosing major international sporting events will be in doubt.

    61
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    Mute tax slave
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:24 AM

    The city manager is playing god . Like he dose with his bike crusade , his ego is more important than the will of the people that pay his wages .

    52
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:46 PM

    Can’t he just be fired?

    1
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    Mute Frank
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:34 AM

    He better have his mobile phone and laptop charged.

    45
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    Mute Martin James Maloney
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:31 AM

    1850 715 815

    43
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    Mute lisa lynch
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:17 AM

    Thought they said we’d know by today at the latest… its a joke…. ive tickets bt at this stage with not knowing I jus want a refund and il use my two days ive booked off work to go to the country music festival in lovely leitrim instead!!! Be more craic & less hassle!!!

    41
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    Mute Simon Barnes
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:55 PM

    exactly people will still spend their monies in Ireland, just wont be concentrated around Croke Park / Dublin

    5
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    Mute Gee Gach Duine
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:19 AM

    Garth Brooks,

    Capitalist Martyr.

    34
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    Mute Tony
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:21 AM

    Gaaarth Broooks stoooop!

    25
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    Mute Caillte
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:32 AM

    Hammer time.

    21
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    Mute Derek
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:15 AM
    24
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    Mute Rúairí O’ Sullivan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:30 AM

    Absolutely. He only booked 1 concert originally, so to turn around and say 5 or nothing is greed personified.

    His career was already over until this and he’s trying to kick start it over this.

    He’ll back down and take the 3…..unfortunately!

    65
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    Mute mutabi
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:53 AM

    How is it greed personified? It’s how the guy makes a living. Why not just play three? Because everything was scaled for 5 shows, the support people, the equipment, the documentary. Why do three if it now means he would end up losing money? Good on Garth Brooks for making a stand. It’s not his fault that this debacle has ballooned.

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    Mute Derek
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:10 PM

    It is greed. Pure greed and ego. So just scale it back a bit. Original plan was for just 3 shows anyway. Here’s something else to chew on. http://www.thelostogle.com/2013/04/16/surprise-garth-brooks-is-shameless/

    16
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    Mute Mark Kelly
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:23 PM

    Have you ever been to a stadium concert? There’s a lot more to it than a stage and his band. All of that work will have already been done. The stage is built and paid for. It’s too late to scale it back!! Can’t believe they haven’t reversed this decision yet! F*cking country pisses me off more by the day.

    20
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    Mute Hugh Chaloner
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:29 PM

    I spent too many months of my life working on a Garth documentary 1st time around 20 years ago, even 1 gig would be torture let alone 5 :) That hat totin’, God-fearin’, yeeee-haaaawin’ act doesn’t do it for me. Lovely man, could land a spit on a sixpence but his music is about as far as you can get on the other end of the spectrum to what I would listen to. In this row I think vitriol should be directed at the promoter who knew full well that it was subject to license. I’m sure GB could’ve sold those dates elsewhere given sufficient notice. Could be that he’ll end up suing the promoter too.

    17
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    Mute Catherine Allen
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:03 PM

    Totally agree, the blame lies squarely with the promoter. That little disclaimer at the bottom of the tickets ‘subject to planning permission’ is a little clue as to how they operate. GB would have sold those tickets no matter where he was playing, why did it have to be Croke Park 5 nights in a row? Surely Aiken are big enough to do a deal with Pairc Ui Chaomh or other stadiums which could have been an Irish tour? Then a more adaptable show could have been created like most musicians do. It’s a mighty cock-up.
    I feel sorry for all those who purchased tickets in good faith and the local businesses that will lose out now but if people think this is just about 300 or so residents they’re wrong. The whole of North Dublin is set back every time there’s a match or concert on, either by traffic delays or people parking their cars in estates as far as Santry, not to mention noise pollution and potential anti social issues for the locals. It’s not the promoters but the council who have to take responsibility for that.

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    Mute Catherine Allen
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:46 PM

    Derek, to be fair, if Brooks was that greedy he’d cut his losses and accept the three. I think he’s just being naive here and standing up for his fans. He also knows that he would lose a certain amount of face with fans and peers if he meekly accepted the three shows without a fight. It’s the promoters who should be accused of greed. You could say they led him on!

    3
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    Mute Marko Burns
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:08 AM

    In effect Dublin isn’t a city anymore- it’s just a commercial entity to be exploited. The same attitude extends to the city center with tacky outlets that should never have been granted license.

    23
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:46 PM

    What did you think cities were for?

    1
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    Mute THE REBEL ONE™
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:59 AM

    Ye are all forgetting something here. The ship carrying the stage and rigging has sailed. If it hits an iceberg (mmm?) it will sink. No stage, no concerts. We have to wait now to see if this ship docks. Aiken will be looking down at it from his plane and cringing and praying.

    18
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    Mute Glen Hoddle
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:25 PM

    Brooks has a guarantee from Aitken – to provide a suitable venue for 5 concerts.

    If such a venue is not made available to Brooks (and his group/company), significant penalties will apply – to be paid by Aitken and his backers.

    Its his problem; he promoted (and sold tickets) before the required permissions had been obtained.

    16
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:44 PM

    Glen, “Its his problem; he promoted (and sold tickets) before the required permissions had been obtained.” Surely by now you’ve reads that this is NORMAL!

    3
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    Mute Glen Hoddle
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:00 PM

    OK, normal. But is not Aitken’s predicament, his problem?

    5
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:11 PM

    …and the 400,000 ticket holders AND the struggling businesses in Dublin.

    I think there’s a great deal of snobbery here. The 70,000 people flying in for C&W singer is too much for some people who think their taste in music is superior, even if it’s probably equally crap. There’s probably thousands of Rap, R&B (not the proper R&B but the crap new stuff) and Dance fans who think they’re cool and C&W fans are m0r0ns.

    1
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    Mute Tom Spurs
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:42 AM

    It will effect the life of one person. This story gets funnier by the day.

    15
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    Mute Brian Hicks
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:13 PM

    One person? So cancellation won’t effect shops, pubs, restaraunts, hotels and all their workers? Won’t effect those from inside of Ireland and out who have booked vacations and travel plans around this event? Revenue generated, taxes and licensing fees all go to one person as well? This isn’t Brooks’ fault…he negotiated and signed what he thought was a firm contract. He could’ve taken this concert series, which would generate millions for a local economy, elsewhere…but he signed a contract. That contract has now been broken and, as a business entity, he has a right to walk away. You may think it’s unfair that he makes a lot of money, but in our system those who generate large amounts of revenue tend to make a lot of money…

    6
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    Mute jay shie
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:49 AM

    We could force the concert goers to take a different route each night. Get the psni down with their expertise. Get an eu grant for cross border project

    12
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    Mute Tim Hart
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:29 AM

    Oh FFS people it’s not guns n roses. Take the cash & move on.

    10
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    Mute Mark Kelly
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:24 PM

    No he’s not quite that sh*t, thank God.

    9
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    Mute paperboy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:27 AM

    The comments should be turned of on these articles like the one last night!!

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    Mute paperboy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:31 AM

    *OF*

    3
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    Mute Leopold Dedalus
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:33 AM

    One more try

    39
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    Mute paperboy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:38 AM

    I know! It nearly 11 and I’m still not with it yet!

    12
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    Mute Will Derbylight
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    Jul 8th 2014, 10:58 AM

    it*…I’m

    9
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    Mute RI Twing
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:46 AM

    Remember when all the half price dust pans are gone – they’re gone.
    Because we’re worth it.
    I can’t believe it’s not butter.
    Bodyformed for you.

    Advertising has NO affect on me at tall.

    7
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    Mute phooey
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:23 PM

    At last another Gareth Brook story I was getting withdrawal symptoms

    6
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    Mute L Connors
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:14 PM

    Just because a few eejits think this is a big deal does not make it news. Maybe a few less articles? There was a question a while back if it would damage Ireland. The reporting of it certainly would. How pathetic would the world think the Irish are if they go on top the Journal and find an article every hour about this? And all these politicians and other eejits falling over themselves to provide a few more mil in revenue for some overrated country star. Absolutely pathetic.

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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 1:48 PM

    A few is hardly what you would describe 400,000 people as?

    1
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    Mute Lee Shay
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    Jul 8th 2014, 11:24 AM

    Mr. Aiken, tell Mr. Brooks I love him anyway.

    3
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    Mute Cathy
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:40 PM

    For everyone who is sick of the Garth Brooks articles – you have the option to just not read them! No one is forcing you to read them, there are plenty of other articles on the Journal that you skip, just making this part of your skip list and stop wasting what’s apparently your precious time

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    Mute David Dunne
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:14 PM

    and the thunder rolls ,and the thunder
    Rolls

    1
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    Mute Gerard Ryan
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    Jul 8th 2014, 3:52 PM

    For Gods sake Peter, make sure your phone and laptop are charged!!

    1
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    Mute chris
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    Jul 8th 2014, 12:56 PM

    How many concerts did he do last time he was here anybody know?

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    Mute Ash
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:32 PM

    3 concerts in ’97, he did a tv special about Ireland which was aired in March ’98 which 15.7 million people watched..

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    Mute Patrick
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:20 PM

    The Haiyan was a crisis ,this is not ,Drama too much.

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    Mute 米丽
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    Jul 8th 2014, 2:39 PM

    I genuinely still don’t even really know who he is, not to mind why everyone cares so bloody much if he plays or not! Leave him off jaysus too much hassle at this rate.

    1
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