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LAST UPDATE | 22 Nov 2021
SEVEN YEARS AFTER plans for a handful of Croke Park gigs created a summer-long saga, Garth Brooks is in Dublin today for a press conference about next September’s concerts at GAA headquarters.
After months of rumours, it was confirmed last week that the top-selling solo artist in US history will play Croke Park on 9 and 10 September.
Togging out at the Drumcondra stadium today, the country music superstar said the cancellation of the five gigs in 2014 was like a “death in the family”.
“It’s still very fresh. It’s like something I’ve never experienced. And one of those things where you go, ‘surely this isn’t going this way, right?’ So, it was one of those things that was a little hard to understand,” Brooks said.
I asked Garth Brooks whether it was conveyed to him what a massive controversy the 2014 cancellations were here in Ireland ... and I think I kind of made him get emotional pic.twitter.com/03HtYqnCxx
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) November 22, 2021
Dublin City Council granted approval for five dates at the start of this month.
When asked whether he’d like to play all five gigs at today’s media event, Brooks quipped: “I’d like to do five, but I’d also like to be six foot five and have abs.”
He added that the amount of ticket sales required to fill all five shows is “impossible”.
The 2014 ‘debacle’
The ‘Friends in low places’ singer sold out five nights in 2014 but cancelled all the shows after planning for all five was not granted.
The Journal asked the country superstar if he was made aware of the debacle in 2014, and becoming emotional, he explained what a “heartache” it was for him to have walk away from the shows.
What happened in 2014 was a frickin miracle. I mean, who does numbers like that, right? So, you’ve got 400,000 Hard tickets in one city, one show. It’s impossible. There’s no way we’re gonna do that number again. There’s just no way.
I asked Garth Brooks whether it was conveyed to him what a massive controversy the 2014 cancellations were here in Ireland ... and I think I kind of made him get emotional pic.twitter.com/03HtYqnCxx
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) November 22, 2021
He said he jumped at the chance when told he could come back.
Garth also didn’t rule out doing smaller gigs when he comes to Ireland next year, but the Croke Park shows are the only ones announced so far.
While he stated he thought it would be impossible to pull off the five nights again, he added that he would like to “close that circle” if possible, perhaps leaving the door open for more performances.
“We’re lucky enough that this is the exact same people that were lucky enough to get to play here in Croke Park in the late 90s,” he said.
“What was meant to start this whole thing [The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour] is now going to be where this whole thing ends. And if there is a blessing in that curse of what happened in 2014, it’s the fact that there is a chance that this artist, and those people that were sweet enough to get those tickets before, now have a chance to hopefully see each other again. It’s the greatest privilege and the greatest joy an artist can have to play Ireland. It’s the greatest heartache to be told you can’t,” he added.
‘Ireland... why would you want to be anywhere else’ says Garth pic.twitter.com/uG07y3dM6r
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) November 22, 2021
He told reporters that he likes that even after the 2014 “debacle”, things could be figured out, saying that “where I’m from, we might not let that dog lie, it might be something that forever splits us apart, but Ireland is empathetic, sympathetic”.
Brooks added that playing in Ireland “is the greatest privilege” for any performer, but it’s the “greatest heartache to be told you can’t', he added.
What happened “hurt, hurt, hurt”, adding that it was “hard to understand” what had happened, and why nothing could be done.
Brooks said he was told he had to choose between what shows would be dropped, but making that choice wasn’t how he was raised, he told the media.
“We either all win together or we all lose together,” he said, stating “I couldn’t find a fair way to do it”.
His love for the Irish audience
When asked why he loves the Irish audience so much, he said he couldn’t explain it, but that there is an “sincerity” about the Irish crowds. While he said a musician can go from city to city to perform, he finds there is something special when he arrives in Ireland, calling it “home” multiple times during today’s press conference.
Brooks said when he was last in Ireland, fans were hanging from windows welcoming him, telling reporters he would think “this has to be a put on, right? No body does this. It is so sweet… that’s what I love about this place”, he said.
“This is a joy for me to be here,” he said, stating he predicts he will just cry for the majority of his gig in Croke Park next year.
The singer said when he returns to Ireland next year he would love to attend an All Ireland final. He plans to travel around Ireland with his country music star wife Trisha Yearwood following the shows, said Brooks.
On Covid, he said he is fully vaccinated and fully masked, but he hopes it will be a bit more “free” next year. “I sure would love not to have to cancel anymore shows,” he said.
When asked about the Taoiseach Micheál Martin stating that he would like to see Brooks play in Cork and whether that might be a possibility, he said once he was told he could play Croke Park that is all he can think about it.
He is aware of a lot of people in the entertainment industry out of work because of the pandemic.
“Who did we miss in the last two years that never got to lift off,” he asked, telling reporters that it will have an impact on what music we get to hear in the future.
“Our actions will depict the future, so be wise, be loving and let’s try and do it all together,” he said.
Tickets for the concerts, so far the only European dates he’s set to play next year, will go on sale on Thursday at 8am.
In September this year, reports emerged that Brooks’ team were applying for a licence to play at the Dublin stadium.
The Council had initially only granted approval for concerts on 9, 10, and 11 September 2022.
It received an application for two more outdoor concerts on 16 and 17 September, which were also granted to promoter Aiken Promotions.
So far, the two gigs on 9 and 10 September are the only ones officially announced.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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Testing tracing and tracking, a sure fire way of staying on top of and maintaining control of the virus and the very minute the numbers begin to surge it starts to crumble, it’s been a half hearted effort from the get go, appalling…
@Kate Flaherty: absolutely. Proven method too.
@Kate Flaherty: one word that constantly springs to mind when you think of the HSE is failure.
@Kate Flaherty: not defining them.. but the numbers turn out to be huge… 9thousand cases at peak represent 50k tests a day.
@Rob Buggle: defending….
@Kate Flaherty: Absolutely. Bit I think the issue is broader. Leadership generally in this country over the last 6 months has been pitifully weak. When COVID is finished we need to have a look at our system which allows the Taoiseach to come from a party with absolutely no mandate to lead. A weak character in a very weak position. What do people expect?
@Kate Flaherty: Worldwide issue. How many contact tracers should we have had working immediately after Christmas, keeping in mind that daily cases were in the thousands and many positive cases were reporting up to 40 contacts. Tracing these contacts would have been an enormous task and testing them all would have been physically impossible. Would have led to a massive backlog in tracing, testing and in the labs. But we should have put Kate Flaherty in charge coz…expert.
@Vonvonic: agree or disagree with their policies… I don’t really care, but to suggest he has no mandate is very trumpian.. he reprsents a government with over 50% first preference votes in last election. I don’t like it, but its true.
@Tommy Roche: I’m no expert Tommy, and neither do I claim to be but a fool could see this has all been mismanaged from the get go or do you forget Leo dithering about the place a week before the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade trying to decide whether or not it should go ahead, he’s a physician and there was a novel virus coming our way, they have been reactive from day one and have not been in any way shape or form have then been proactive in any area affected by this pandemic, unless weak and uninspiring…
@Rob Buggle: Trumpian? Lol. You don’t do irony obviously Rob.
@Kate Flaherty: useless not unless…
@Kate Flaherty: You’re 100% on the money.
@Vonvonic: you don’t do proportional representation obviously Von
@Rob Buggle: I definitely don’t do duplicity. “I’m not defending them. I’m just giving you their point of view in a positive light.” You’re fooling noone.
@Rob Buggle: What part of “we need to have a look at our system …” do you want me to explain for you?
So the numbers we are getting at the moment are really only a part of the story!
@MrHammey12: the are using the method they used last March
@MrHammey12: yes
I don’t know is there much point in the testing of close contacts. After all, even if you test negative, you still need to restrict your movements for 14 days. Also, seeing as they do not differentiate between those who carry the virus, SARS-COV-2, and those that develop symptoms of the disease, CoViD-19, I think it is skewing people’s perception of how dangerous the disease can be, as everybody seems to be classing it as CoViD-19, with symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.
@Joe_X: testing of close contacts is important because they find people who are positive BEFORE they have much opportunity to spread the virus.
@Lorraine Mac Rory: What you say is correct, and believe me, when they first started testing close contacts I was in full agreement of it. However, regardless of the close contact’s result, they are still meant to isolate/restrict movements anyway, from the time you have been contacted by the HSE, which stops them spreading the virus. So why not keep the testing for symptomatic cases of CoViD-19, keep the close contacts restriction of movements in place, and possibly we may see a more accurate indication of who is at most risk of CoViD-19. Possibly then report on so many cases of the disease proper, with X amount more cases isolating due to being close contacts.
@Joe_X: you teat the close contacts because if they have the virus then they too have a set of close contacts that need to be tested & isolate If you don’t test the close contacts then this second set may be infected and go spreading it about
@Paddy Cullen AIWS: actually Paddy, that thought never crossed my mind. I had only thought of the primary person and their contacts. I still think they should differentiate between symptomatic sufferers of CoViD-19 and assymptomatic carriers of SARS-COV-2, and not blanket it all as CoViD-19.
Why are they not using oximeters at the time of testing. Immediately the can tell if blood oxygen is compromised and if patient needs to be hospitalised. Early detection means shorter hospital stay. This is being done in NYC. Check out Amanpour show on CNN. Dr Richard Levitan. God can the HSE ever keep up?
@Ted Murphy: there are loads of reasons a person’s O2 saturations might be abnormal that have nothing to do with covid19. We’d end up admitting patients that don’t need to be, and exposing them to covid19 patients in hospitals. A patient may also be on the verge of deteriorating but with normal saturations. A snapshot of O2 saturations is fairly useless on its own, the equipment costs money, that equipment is already needed in hospitals, and there is a (probably very small) possibility of transmitting the virus from one patient to the next via equipment contamination. Also we don’t have any particularly effective treatments, so early detection does not equal shorter stay. It probably means longer stay, as they would be admitted earlier than they may have been otherwise.
@Ted Murphy: I got a pulse oximeter through my pharmacist as we have high risks in the family due to asthma. You can get them online too. Covid-19 in the lungs eats away at the part that takes in O2 first, and then goes to the part that expels CO2. Rising C02 is what causes gasping and shortness of breath. So you can feel fine because CO2 is still getting expelled when your ability to take in O2 goes down. This is called silent hypoxia. By the time 02 rates have plummeted you are in trouble. This progression is unique to Covid-19 and is why people don’t realise they are sick until it’s really bad. Pulse oximeters can help monitor things better and they are cheap: https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.amp.html
Did everyone not realise something was amiss when Ireland’s numbers went from a few thousand a day to 1,500 in a couple of weeks. Said it from the start regardless of the reason we are cooking the books. Like we did in March when we cancelled 50 odd thousand tests after people waiting 10 days and this no longer needed testing
All it needs are the usual numpties to start blithering on about how well we are doing compared to the rest of Europe to really complete the circle.
Did a trip around 5 testing facilities yesterday absolutely none of them where super busy, literally none. What in the name of… is going on? I’ve been in 3 different countries since this all began last January and I have to say Ireland’s response to this is absolutely shambolic. From testing to hospital beds etc everything is amateur in this country, I’m not talking about the frontline staff but nphet and government aided and abetted by media hysteria and an absolutely gullible and scared public.. sick
0.06% of the population of Ireland died “with” vivid since this all began, yet the country is on its knees??
iMask Protocol with Ivermectin..
It obliterates covid… Please check out the FLCCC ALLIANCE
Ivermectin has been known for its anti viral properties for decades especially around sars, if you take this protocol you will not get sick..
The HSE need to move on this NOW
Ivermectin is readily and easily available alongside the other parts of the protocol which include high doses of vit c, vit d3, zinc..etc
The Ivermectin patent ran out in the 90′s… So vaccine vaccine vaccine $$$ the world is run by sick people who at the end of the day only care about profit.. take your health into your own hands with a doctor that is not compromised by pharma..
Doctor Pierre Kory a front line critical care doctor in the states said..” if you take this protocol, you will not get sick, it obliterates covid”
have your say