The owner of Slane Castle, Lord Mount Charles, has confirmed that Madonna will play her first Irish concert and her only open-air date in Europe this year at Slane Castle on Sunday, August 29th.
In advance of the promoter, MCD, formally applying for a licence for the annual event, he confirmed that the pop icon can only play on a Sunday because of the logistics attached to getting her "extraordinary" show ready and not because of religious beliefs.
He also hit back at critics who claim it will prevent local people from going to Sunday Mass and at local politicians who want Meath County Council to refuse a licence because it is a Sunday.
The Queen of Pop does not begin her "Reinvention Tour" until next month, and most of the US and UK dates have already sold out.
Some websites are quoting between $165 and $640 for tickets.
However, details of the ticket prices for Slane have not yet been finalised.
Lord Mount Charles confirmed that he has wanted Madonna, "who has icon status, is highly controversial and very interesting," to play at Slane for a number of years.
It was only early this year that he received confirmation that she would be headlining and following other major international musicians including U2, the Rolling Stones, Queen and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
As is the norm with Madonna, she has provoked controversy before her appearance was even confirmed.
The last Sunday concert at Slane was by Bob Dylan in 1984 when there were riots that made national news.
It was some years before concerts resumed at the castle; when they did it was on a Saturday.
"I knew people would stir up memories of 1984. This year Bob Dylan is playing in Galway on Sunday, June 27th, so if he can play there on a Sunday I am puzzled why there is opposition to Madonna playing Slane on a Sunday," Lord Mount Charles said.
"The fact is that Madonna is an extraordinary artist, and this is about entertainment. It
is is very easy for local politicians and others to try and knock what we have done in Slane over the last number of years.
"Where were all these people when I and others tried to have the interpretative centre for Newgrange located in Slane?"
He said that he and MCD would go to enormous lengths to facilitate local people.
This would include putting back the time the gates open from noon to 2 p.m. so that anyone who wants to can attend Mass before the concert starts.
"I fully realise that having 80,000 people in the middle of Co Meath does cause inconvenience and disruption. I do actually get grief when the concerts are held on a Saturday."
There had been wide speculation and rumour that Madonna would not play on a Saturday for religious reasons.
However, Lord Mount Charles said the concert was on a Sunday because it was the only feasible date and day.
He added: "Madonna plays six dates in London beforehand.
"The final one is Wembley on the 26th, so it would not be possible logistically to get a show ready for Slane on Saturday 28th."
Already there have been hundreds of inquiries about Madonna, and there will be a feverish wait by her fans for the tickets, which are expected to be more expensive than previously for Slane.
Details of the price and when and where tickets will be released have yet to be finalised but are expected by the time MCD makes a formal application for a licence for the event to Meath County Council later this month.
MCD, the council and the North Eastern Health Board all liaise closely with gardaí in the run-up to and during the concert.
Yesterday Chief Supt Michael Finnegan, of the Louth-Meath division, said that as in previous years gardaí will insist there must be no camping in Slane.
At this stage a Sunday concert is not believed to present any policing challenges different from one on a Saturday, and Chief Supt Finnegan confirmed: "If it is granted a licence we will police it."