DUST OFF THE Stetson hat you bought back in 2014, because Garth Brooks is in Dublin today.
The country music star is attending a press conference in Croke Park to promote his two Irish concerts which will take place next September.
After months of rumours, it was confirmed last week that the Oklahoma superstar will play Croke Park on 9 and 10 September.
Tickets for the concerts, so far the only European dates he’s set to play next year, will go on sale on Thursday at 8am.
The last time Brooks appeared at Croke Park, he did not perform but held a similar press conference, and crowds gathered outside to see the him in the flesh.
Sing-songs by fans who had gathered outside were aired that evening on RTÉ News.
In September this year, reports emerged that Brooks’ team were applying for a licence to play at the Dublin stadium.
Dublin City Council granted approval for five dates at the start of this month.
The Council had initially granted approval for concerts on 9, 10, and 11 September 2022.
It received an application for two more outdoor concerts on 16 and 17 September, which were also granted to promoter Aiken Promotions.
So far the initial two dates are the only ones officially confirmed, but it’s expected more will follow.
Brooks was at the centre of an infamous summer-long saga in 2014 when his scheduled five-night run in Croke Park wasn’t granted permission to go ahead.
The entire nation was convulsed by the saga that dominated the news for several weeks and saw the intervention of the Taoiseach, and most unusually, the Mexican ambassador.
The controversy even resulted in a Fianna Fáil TD, now senator, Timmy Dooley attempting to bring in legislation to change the planning laws so that Dublin City Council could give the go-ahead for the five gigs.
At the time, Brooks was initially asked to cancel two of the gigs, but not wanting to leave out certain fans, he decided to cancel all five shows following a licensing dispute with local authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of fans were disappointed when they were cancelled.
In the years since then, there have been frequent rumours that Brooks was planning a return.
News that he is finally coming back to Ireland will be welcome news to the 400,000 ticket-holders that missed out the last time.
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