Gardaí have announced policing plans to deal with almost 250,000 people who will attend the three U2 concerts at Croke Park this weekend.
More than 200 gardaí and 1,000 stewards will work at each concert on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights. With 82,000 people attending each concert, it will be like hosting three All-Ireland finals back to back, according to Peter McKenna, Croke Park's stadium director. The only difference is that fans will be on the pitch and in the stands.
Mr McKenna said the organisational plans would be similar to those put in place to host the Special Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies at Croke Park two years ago.
"The plans that we have today are very much a modification of those successful plans," he said.
Croke Park was used to big crowds, having just hosted 82,000 fans at the Leinster football semi-finals last Sunday, he said. Chief Supt Michael Feehan said the traffic plans centred on facilitating local residents and businesses, as two of the concerts were being held on work days.
After the morning rush hour on Friday and Monday, a traffic cordon will be set up around Croke Park with restricted access to areas such as Clonliffe Road. The cordon will start shortly after 9am on Saturday and last until 1am the following morning.
As the concerts end, an outer traffic cordon will be put in place from about 10.45pm to 1am. City-bound traffic, coming from the Marino/Fairview area, will have to use the Fairview to North Strand route; while outbound traffic from the city will use the Amiens Street to North Strand route.
Summerhill, Ballybough and Fairview Strand will be closed to traffic during this time. Parts of North Circular Road and Lower Drumcondra Road will also be closed.
There will be enough space for about 50 private coaches to drop off concert-goers on Mountjoy Square and to park there during the concerts. Further space for up to 25 coaches will be provided on Poplar Row.
Coaches will also be able to drop concert-goers on both sides of Gardiner Street along Mountjoy Square but this area cannot be used as a pick-up point after the concerts.
Some car-parking spaces will be available at Clonliffe College, with entry via Lower Drumcondra Road. Chief Supt Feehan also advised concert-goers that gardaí at every cordon would be seizing alcohol, bottles, flagpoles and any objects that could cause injury to others.
The turnstiles will open at 4pm each day but they may be opened earlier for safety reasons, Michael Slattery, safety officer for the event said. U2's Vertigo 2005 world tour opened in San Diego in March and will return to the US in September after its European leg.
