Garth Brooks May Not Play Dublin After All

When Garth Brooks announced his comeback, it was in the form of two shows in Dublin, Ireland. When the tickets sold out in 90 minutes, a third show was added. Those tickets were gone in under two hours so a fourth show was added to the mix. Tickets for a fifth and final show went like hotcakes. By the time the ticket lines closed, all 400,000 tickets had sold. Fans that got in were thrilled and it looked like the hot spot for country music (at least for July) was going to be Croke Park in Ireland.

Today, that hot spot got a lot cooler. The Irish Times reported that the Dublin City Council vetoed two of the five shows. Some residents in the area started fighting the 5-show plan back in February, citing noise and traffic issues. Promoters were sure that the financial gain would be enough to make the council overlook a 2009 agreement that limited the venue to three concerts a year. Plus, there was the history of how many concerts had actually been denied (Dublin's city council has only rejected one application for a license in 30 years). But in the end, the strict 3 concert rule was followed. The council denied the last two shows, in order to "minimise disruption to the neighbourhood in which the concerts are to take place." Needless to say, fans are less than happy with the decision.

As for Garth, he issued a statement after the ruling that will make a whole lot of people even more unhappy. The singer thanked the people of Ireland for making him feel welcome and said he had "faith that Dublin City Council will make the best decision for the people of Ireland," but he said it's all five shows or it's none at all.

Concert promoter Peter Aiken was stunned. He said that he and/or members of his staff had been in "daily contact with the city council" and had been given "no indication" there would be a problem getting all five concerts approved. "It’s up in the air. That’s the honest to God answer. I can’t turn around and say the three shows are going to happen," he told IT.

Moving the last two shows to another venue isn't even on the table as there are no other venues in the area that can hold the 80,000 fans with tickets to each show.

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Garth Brooks