TICKETS FOR JAMES Vincent McMorrow’s gig in the Iveagh Gardens – the first of a series of pilot outdoor events as the country opens up again – sold out this morning in just half an hour.

Demand for the 500 tickets, which were sold on the National Concert Hall website, was “absolutely phenomenal”.

The website crashed for some users, before the venue confirmed just after 10:30 that the gig was sold out.

The show will take place next Thursday 10 June at 7pm. Tickets were sold in “pods” of up to four people, and are standing-only.

The concert will also feature special guest Sorcha Richardson.

The National Concert Hall said yesterday that it has implemented a range of control measures to ensure the protection and safety of performing artists, staff, and customers.

These measures include staggered access times, socially distanced queuing systems, hygiene stations in convenient locations, enhanced cleaning regimes, easily accessible toilet facilities, socially-distanced standing pods for attendees and mandatory wearing of masks when outside your pod.

Last week, the Government announced a series of pilot music and sport events that will take place in June and July, including indoor performances and a nightclub event.

The events include an opera performance in the University of Limerick on 23 June, an outdoor music festival in the Phoenix Park on 26 June and a comedy gig in Vicar Street on 3 July.

Additionally, several sport matches and events have been given the green light under the pilot scheme.

The largest of these is the Camogie National League Finals in Croke Park on Saturday 20 June with a capacity of 3,000.