The Stage

Madonna sparks Slane Sunday showdown

Published Monday 10 May 2004 at 17:25 by Anthony Garvey

Slane, Eire

People living near Slane Castle are threatening court action to prevent a first appearance by Madonna at Ireland’s premier open-air concert venue on August 29.

Their objection is to the fact that, for the first time in 20 years, the concert is being staged on a Sunday. On the last occasion, when Bob Dylan headed the bill in 1984, serious rioting broke out in the small county Meath village and concerts were subsequently abandoned for several years. This year, a proposed Dylan concert in Salthill, County Galway, has already provoked an outcry from locals.

Slane residents claim that as condition for allowing concerts to resume, they were given a “binding commitment” by the owner of Slane Castle, Lord Henry Mountcharles, that concerts would never again be staged on a Sunday.

Mountcharles insists that is “not strictly accurate”, but adds that circumstances have changed and that special precautions are being taken to meet residents’ concerns.

He dismissed reports that the singer was refusing to perform on Saturdays because of her involvement with a Jewish sect and said Sunday was the only available date “because of the logistics of the massive Madonna tour”. To allay residents’ fears about not be able to attend religious services on the Sunday because of the concert, he promised that gates to the venue would not open until 2pm, instead of 12 noon. In addition, the concert would not run later than 10.30pm.

He described Madonna as “a pop icon, who is highly controversial and very interesting”, and said he had been trying for several years to get her to play at Slane. “I fully realise that having 80,000-plus people in the middle of county Meath does cause inconvenience and disruption,” he added. “But Madonna is an extraordinary artist and this is about entertainment.”

Concert promoter MCD, which is staging the event in collaboration with Mountcharles, has formally applied to Meath County Council for a licence. Slane residents are urging the council to say no and have organised a petition, signed by several hundred villagers, to back their case. But if the licence is granted, they are threatening to seek an Irish high court injunction to prevent the concert going ahead.

The Slane appearance is set to follow Madonna’s six London dates, part of her Reinvention Tour. Her Irish performance, according to reports, will net her a massive 4.2 million euros - or around 2 million euros an hour. Ticket prices have not yet been announced but are likely to top 100 euros.