WESTLIFE IS to play a concert at Lissadell House in Co Sligo on July 30th.
The concert takes place a day before Leonard Cohen plays two nights at the stately home where WB Yeats visited Countess Constance Markievicz.
Kian Egan, one of three Sligo-born singers in Westlife, recalled they had previously played in the town’s Markievicz Park. “We’ve been itching to get back home ever since.”
Lissadell is closed to the public while a dispute over rights-of-way on the estate is heard in the High Court between owners Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, and Sligo County Council.
The couple’s principal address is Morristown, Lattin, Naas, Co Kildare, but they use Lissadell as a second home. They bought the estate for almost €4 million in 2003. They have spent some €9.5 million restoring it and claim they cannot operate it as a tourist amenity if public rights of way exist.
Up to 10,000 people will be seated outdoors during each of the three nights of the Leonard Cohen and Westlife shows.
Sligo County Council has given planning permission and detailed talks have taken place with gardaí, who have been given assurances on security.
Most concert-goers are expected to have left the venue well before midnight, with many staying in accommodation in Sligo and Bundoran, Co Donegal.