Torrential rain fell as the last of the Oxegen music fans left the campsites in Punchestown, Co Kildare this morning.
Sunday night's headliners The Killers signed off a successful weekend with a crowd-pleasing set drawn largely from their new album Day & Age.
Lead singer Brandon Flowers even tried a little Irish on the crowd saying “go raibh maith agat” after one of the early songs.
There was a large crowd too for Jane's Addiction's first concert in Ireland and the bare-chested lead singer Perry Farrell tried a cod Irish accent out on the crowd.
There were long delays for traffic going to and from Punchestown to Naas this morning. Gardaí have warned all motorists or taxis wishing to pick up from the Oxegen site that they must use the park and ride facilities at Goffs.
Though were 114 arrests over the course of the festival with one serious assault involving a concert-goer who was glassed with a bottle in the neck on Friday night, but he is making a full recovery in hospital.
The arrests were for relatively minor offences and Gardai reiterated their satisfaction with the behaviour of the crowds over the weekend.
Fans exiting the campsite said they were pleased with the weekend despite the incessant rain which fell on Saturday and the torrential downpour yesterday evening which turned the venue into a morass of mud.
Dory Schultz (18) from Athlone described it as “the best weekend of my life” and said her highlights were The Script, Lady GaGa and The Killers. “The rain was horrible, but it didn't take away from our enjoyment of the weekend.”
Lauren Dudley (22) from Kent in England said: “I had a great weekend, but I wasn't a big fan of the weather. We missed several bands because we had to get changed or else we'd get hypothermia.”
Nathan Simpson (23) from Enniskillen said: “It was my first festival. There was a great atmosphere where we were camping. The Killers finished it off brilliantly”.
Andrew Donovan (17) from Goatstown in Dublin, said: “I thought Blur were unbelievable. The crowd were quite hectic at Kings of Leon, but I thought The Killers stole the whole show.”
Luke Byrne (17) from Terenure said: “The line-up was great, but the weather was absolutely appalling. Sleeping was horrible. The water was seeping through the tents and dripping on you. It was absolutely disgusting.”
