Sir , – No-one involved in the Garth Brooks fiasco comes out of it looking well. Although the economic boost from the concerts would have being concentrated in Dublin, a €50 million injection into the economy was not to be sniffed at. There are undoubtedly many people across the country that were affected by the affair. However, while many people would initially blame the residents’ associations, I feel that many other people and organisations had a part to play in this big mess.
As positive of a force as it is in Irish society, the GAA was in the wrong when it failed to seek consultation with the residents about the extra concerts – especially if it involved breaking a promise to limit the number of summer concerts in Croke Park to three a year.
The organiser, Aiken Promotions, should have had the sense to seek a licence for the extra concerts – after all, it was not every day that they would get 400,000 tickets sold, and one would have thought that they should have checked to see if they could get approval for it beforehand.
Dublin City Council showed more than a bit of incompetence by leaving it until the 11th hour before deciding to announce that only three of the concerts would have been allowed. It would have been much better if it announced that much sooner than it did, and allowed more time for a solution to be reached.
Garth Brooks also has to take some blame for deciding to pull out of the three concerts that were approved, and to refuse a compromise offered to hold a fourth on another night. If he had not taken such a bull-headed approach, there may well have been no controversy to speak of.
Finally, the fact that Dublin’s councillors were overruled in their attempt to reverse the council’s restrictions shows how toothless local government really is, when unelected bureaucrats have more power in local administration than elected representatives of the local communities they are meant to represent. If there had been an elected executive mayor with the responsibility to find (and power to implement) a solution, the outcome could have being much better for all concerned. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS M CREAMER,
Aughnasheelin,
Ballinamore,
Co Leitrim.
Sir – It seems we will miss out on five nights of classic Garth Brooks. Perhaps the three afternoons of classic Joe Duffy that are sure to follow will go some way to making up for it. Every cloud and all that. – Yours, etc,
GARRET LEDWITH,
Tudor Road,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
A chara, – So there it is. All five Garth Brooks concerts cancelled, the economy out an estimated €50 million, hundreds of thousands of disappointed fans and Ireland is left looking like a laughing stock. It is embarrassing and disappointing.
There are many parties that have to shoulder some of the blame but to my mind the two parties that are most at fault are those few hundred residents that objected, and Dublin City Council.
Claims of fraudulent objections being submitted makes it even more frustrating that this small group has got its way. I hope the claims are being followed up by An Garda Síochána.
To hear that Dublin City Council had offered to licence four shows but not the last one strikes me as nothing more than a combination of stubbornness and arrogance. It seems to me that they just didn’t want to be seen to be “caving in” to common sense so they stood their ground on the last show. – Is mise,
SIMON O’CONNOR,
Lismore Road ,
Crumlin,
Dublin 12.
A chara, – We finally have the answer – no bread really is better than half a loaf, – Is mise,
SEÁN DINGLE,
Mountjoy Parade,
Dublin 1.
Sir, – What do you get when you play a country and western song backwards in Ireland? You get the dog back, you get the truck back, you get the house back but you don’t get Garth Brooks back. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN DEVITTE,
Mill Street,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – How many Irish people do you need to have a concert? Some to make a song and dance, one to call the tune, and the rest to whistle down the wind. – Yours, etc,
KEN BUGGY,
Lyons Cross,
Ballydubh Upper,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – This whole Garth Brooks concerts debacle could have been avoided if we listened to the former taoiseach and built the Bertie Bowl. – Yours, etc,
CHARLES SMYTH,
Wood House,
Kells,
Co Meath.
Sir, – As with the country’s economic crises, the Garth Brooks fiasco was caused ultimately by a national tendency for people to completely lose the run of themselves. It would now appear that the same collective shortcoming is to be applied to generating hysterical over-reaction to the consequences of the cancellation. Embarrassing certainly, disappointing and inconvenient for many, but international reputational damage? Cancelled concerts hardly rank at the top of the list of reasons why Ireland’s reputation might have suffered in recent times. Get over it. – Yours, etc,
JOE O’NEILL,
Adair Park,
Cookstown,
Co Tyrone.
Sir, – The best little country in the world in which not to do business. – Yours, etc,
CLIVE J SALTER,
Lakeside,
Ballinascarthy, Co Cork.
Sir, – There’s no-show like a Garth show. – Yours, etc,
NORMAN DAVIES,
Belton Terrace,
Bray, Co Wicklow.
Sir, – What a bad day for Brazilian Garth Brooks fans in Dublin. – Yours, etc,
BERNARD LYNCH,
Castleheath,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.