ONE YEAR AGO today, tickets for a certain concert at a certain stadium in Dublin’s north inner city went on sale.
The artist? G**th Br**ks.
The tickets? Initially two nights worth at Croke Park (around 170,000) climbing to five nights worth (around 400,000).
The hype: Astronomical
The disappointment: Unbelievable
On 29 January 2014 people started queuing to purchase tickets to the (then) two gigs announced for Croke Park for summer 2014.
A makeshift camp in Newcastle Co.Down
Dundalk
At 9am on 30 January, the tickets went on sale. They sold out, fast. Then a third date was added, and they sold out too.
In fact, in just 90 minutes, Garth Brooks sold one ticket for every 25 people in Ireland.
People were desperate to get their paws on them.
They weren’t to know that just days later, two more dates would be added, bringing the total amount spent on Garth Brooks tickets to Ireland to €28m.
They also weren’t to know that it would all be cruelly ripped away from them.
Today, we remember those fallen tickets, those crushed line dancing hopes, those friends in the lowest of places.
