BBC on “Slane Controversy”
Pop queen Madonna has been criticised for scheduling the only Irish concert of her world tour on a Sunday.
Madonna will become the first musician to play at Slane Castle, 30 miles (50 km) north of Dublin, on a Sunday since Bob Dylan’s 1984 show ended in riots.
Sunday 29 August was the only date that the star could fit in, the castle’s owner Lord Henry Mount Charles said.
But Slane parish priest Joe Deegan said it was “inconsiderate and insensitive” in a largely Roman Catholic country.
“The Lord’s Day for a lot of people around this part of the world is Sunday,” he said, adding that their religious beliefs were not being taken into account.
Some local politicians want Meath County Council to refuse the show a licence, the Belfast Telegraph reported.
After Dylan played at Slane Castle in 1984, concerts there were suspended for several years – and then only on Saturdays.
Lord Mount Charles said: “I knew people would stir up memories of 1984. This year Bob Dylan is playing in Galway on Sunday 27 June.
“So if he can play there on a Sunday, I am puzzled why there is opposition to Madonna playing Slane on a Sunday.”
Madonna’s Slane Castle gig will take place after a series of sold-out shows at London’s Earl’s Court and Wembley Arena.
They will also follow a two-month tour of the US, starting in Los Angeles on 24 May.
Source: BBC NEWS