Kings of rock and ruck take stage

A busy weekend of music and sport lies ahead with a headline show by the Kings of Leon at Slane Castle and the Magners League…

A busy weekend of music and sport lies ahead with a headline show by the Kings of Leon at Slane Castle and the Magners League final between Munster and Leinster among the highlights.

Up to 80,000 people are expected to descend on Slane village in Co Meath tomorrow for the gig, which marks the 30th anniversary of Lord Henry Mountcharles opening his estate for concerts.

Elbow, Thin Lizzy, Mona, White Lies and The Whigs will provide support at the gig and US rockstars Kings of Leon will close out the proceedings with a two-hour set.

Gates open at 1pm and the first act is scheduled to take to the stage half an hour later.

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Tickets are still on sale today priced €85 and organisers have put in place a number of new on site measures to address problems which arose at the last Slane Castle gig in 2009, which was headlined by Oasis.

At the time, fans complained about overcrowding at the Dublin gate end of the venue, with ticket scanning eventually suspended as a result of lengthy queues.

There were also problems after the concert, with many fans complaining that they had to wait for hours to get Dublin Bus transport home.

However, the Dublin-side entrance to the estate area has since been widened to allow for ticket scanning and the opening of a new emergency access route.

A new system has also been introduced for those who will be leaving the site by public transport. A loop system has been put in place with buses arriving via the N2 and returning via Donore and the M1 motorway. Private coaches will leave via the N2.

The organisers have also decided against putting toilets next to one of the main bar areas, a site of severe crowd congestion back in 2009.

Met Éireann is forecasting rain and drizzle for tomorrow and Sunday with northern counties worst affected initially but with showers spreading to the west and south on Sunday. Temperatures are not expected to rise above 14 or 15 degrees.

In the west, all eyes will be on Thomond Park in Limerick as rugby heavyweights Munster and Leinster square off in the Magners League final before signing off for their summer break.

Munster will be hoping to capitalise on a Heineken Cup hangover among the newly crowned European champions and to give their fans something to cheer about after a disappointing European campaign. The game kicks off at 5.05pm tomorrow.

Elsewhere, Life Festival takes place at Belvedere House near Mullingar in Co Westmeath.

Jeff Mills and John Digweed are among the acts performing at the electronic and dance music festival which kicks off this evening and continues through to Sunday.

Those staying in the capital for the weekend will not be without options.

The Dublin City Soul Festival continues until Sunday with a soul jam in the Workmans Club tomorrow night and a soul picnic in Merrion Square on Sunday afternoon among the highlights.

Dublin's league champion hurlers begin their tilt at Leinster and All-Ireland championship glory against Offaly on at 2pm on Sunday in Croke Park.

Steven Carroll

Steven Carroll

Steven Carroll is an Assistant News Editor with The Irish Times