A YOUNG Irish band headlining at the Stadium is not only a celebration for the act concerned but a validation of their popularity.
Yet in many ways the National Stadium is the Hello! of Irish venues: other Irish contenders have consummated their growing success at this venue, only to be divorced from their fans, and playing much smaller venues within 18 months.
Whether this will happen to The Corrs is impossible to tell, but there's an intriguing cyclical aspect to this gig that the Dundalk band's fans might not be aware of.
Support act was Sarah Merrigan, who, six years ago, was Ireland's Next Big Female Thing. Merrigan effectively disappeared without trace, yet there she was on Saturday night ready and willing for another stab at the big time.
As for The Corrs, the big time would seem to be theirs for the taking. The visual ingredients are spot on while their combination of West Coast pop and Irish trad would appear to be custom made for the American market. The fact that their pop sensibility is inherently weak shouldn't concern them - they make up for it with a far more integral sense of how to utilise their traditional music strengths.
What's worrying is that, as yet, they don't know how to fuse the two elements together.
What are The Corrs, then? A trad group or a pop outfit? The Bothy Band or The Frothy Band? And will they be playing The Point in 18 months?