by Brendan Gallagher

The Opening Night in Dublin was a great success with all the Dublin newspapers lavishing praise on last night's performance. The lads in the band had a brilliant night too. They played a great version of "The Auld Triangle", the lyrics written I think by a Dublin writer by the name of Brendan Behan. The song is in fact about a bell that the prison officers in Mountjoy Prison used to ring, marking mealtimes etc. The bell was in fact a steel triangle and is still there in the main concourse of the jail, though it is no longer used. Brendan Behan was an inmate of the jail in the 1950's. We got to Croke Park about 7.30p.m. to soak up the atmosphere. Glasvegas were coming to end of their set and there was an interval of about 45 minutes before U2 came on. They got a rapturous reception from their hometown fans and the atmosphere was electric. They played a great selection of new and old hits and the only song I didn't like was their version of " If I don't go crazy" which they seemed to enjoy playing. The lighting was brilliant and the "Claw" worked it't magic. I saw U2 play Croke Park in 1987 and the magic was just the same. Amazing that 20 years later they can gather almost a quarter of a millon people (and remember that the population of the Republic of Ireland is only 4.1 million people

Return to previous page | Post a Review of this show!