TWO rock concerts by the band, Oasis, planned for Cork next month may have to be cancelled if Bord Pleanala decides that planning permission is required before they can be held in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Following a High Court decision last year after a challenge to the three day Feile event, the GAA has been told it must apply for permission to stage events that run over two or three days.
However, Cork Corporation said it was unsure whether this applied to two separate concerts and was preparing a submission for Bord Pleanala.
The submission will not be completed until later this week and a representative said the corporation did not know if the board would return with a decision before the concerts.
Should they not have a decision from the planning hoard, the status quo would apply and the organisers would be allowed to hold the concerts as planned on August 14th and 15th. However, if the decision is that the GAA must apply for permission this could mean the concerts would have to be cancelled.
Residents in the Blackrock area around Pairc Ui Chaoimh objected to last year's Feile and said they were ready to object to the Oasis concerts.
This could take more time than the four weeks available before the planned concerts", a spokeswoman for the corporation said.
The GAA has applied for planning permission to use the stadium for two and three day events, but a decision has not yet been made by the corporation. This would be a once off permission and, should the decision be positive, it would cover all future events.
The corporation spokeswoman said. "We have not had any real difficulty with events held there in the past. They have been well organised, and we would not like to disappoint patrons in the current situation where people have bought tickets for the concert next month.
"But we will just have to wait and see if Bord Pleanala gets back to us in time and what their decision will be."
The concerts are reported to be the fastest selling rock events planned in the country.
But the president of Maryville Residents' Association, Mr Ger Lowry, said that, apart from the inconvenience of having crowds of people in their area on the way to the concerts, they feared the aftermath most.
The stadium was planned for sporting events but rock concerts attracted a different type of person. "Sports fans leave the area immediately after a game but after a concert people hang around and can cause trouble," he said, adding the problem was one of drugs, with an increase in the levels of crime because of youngsters taking drugs.
Residents appealed to the High Court last year before Feile 95 for an injunction to prevent the concert going ahead. They failed to get one, but the GAA gave an undertaking the association would apply for planning permission to hold musical events in the sports stadium.
The Feile crowds were smaller than expected and it passed off without any serious problems.