The Queen of Pop arrived on stage at Slane Castle 50 minutes late last night for her first Irish concert. A crowd of some 75,000 fans who braved the unpredictable weather welcomed her with a rousing cheer.

Earlier, while eager fans sat through heavy rain, concert staff frantically mopped the stage floor. At 9.20 p.m. when the rain had stopped and a full moon broke through, Madonna appeared.

Opening with the crowd-rousing Vogue, Madonna made her entrance by being lowered onto the stage. Dressed in an ivory top, black hot pants and knee-high boots, she looked every bit the glamorous star the crowd had been waiting for. More gymnastics, carefully choreographed routines and a sprinkling of yoga manoeuvres made for a fast-paced and spectacular show as Madonna brought the crowd on a 20-year journey through her musical career.

Earlier in the day the well-prepared crowd, decked out in rain gear, cheerfully began to make their way to Slane. Hot-dog vendors and cowboy hat sellers did a roaring trade as did the hawkers selling inflatable armchairs.
Godfather of punk Iggy Pop had warmed up the crowd. Ignoring the cold, the bare-chested Iggy belted out some classic anthems. However, it was clear from the outset that it was the Queen of Pop that the predominantly-female audience was waiting for.

“I am here to see Madonna and nobody else. When I was young I even thought I was her for a while,” said Sonia Greene from Trim, Co Meath. Among guests at Slane Castle were U2 band members, former Northern Ireland secretary Dr Mo Mowlam, ex-Boyzone member Keith Duffy, Westlife’s Kian Egan and Irish rugby player Brian O’Driscoll.

Chief Supt Michael Finnegan said the concert could not have gone better from an operational point of view. There were only a handful of arrests which was much lower than average, he said. “Given the fact that there was a capacity crowd, this was very good. We want to have Madonna in Slane every year.”

There were more than 600 gardaí based in Slane for the weekend as well as 700 security personnel working with promoters MCD and 11 boats patrolling the River Boyne. Asked about the concert’s late start, MCD’s Mr Justin Green said: “We have waited 20 years for Madonna to come to Ireland. I am sure the fans did not mind waiting a few minutes.”

Although the rain returned during the performance it did little to dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic fans. Maireád Hanniffy and Esther Woolley travelled from Galway. She was their idol in the 1980s and they felt this was the only opportunity to see her.

Madonna’s filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie watched her perform from close to the stage and their two children, Lourdes and Rocco, were also at the event.

Madonna’s “Reinvention” tour is a mix of her hits which have spanned three decades, including songs from her Like A Virgin album to American Life.

Aileen Barnes (40), from Walkinstown in Dublin, said: “I’ve been a fan of hers since the early 1980s. As a young girl I always wanted to see her. She never came so I never got a chance. “I have two young children so it would be very hard to travel to see her. I am very excited. I bought tickets the second day they went on sale.”

Michael Heffernan, from Finglas in Dublin, said: “I queued the first day for two hours to get tickets.”

The ultimate material girl pulled in €88.50 per ticket. The event is set to make €7.1 million as all 80,000 tickets were sold. As she writhed through Nobody Knows Me, Frozen and American Life, the convert to Jewish mysticism Kabbalah portrayed a slightly calmer image than in her earlier years.

She and her 110-strong entourage now take the extravaganza to the Netherlands and Portugal.

Source: Irish Times