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U2 gigs in doubt as residents block trucks in Dublin

Angry residents block access to U2 trucks over deafening noise

By
ANTOINETTE KELLY,
IrishCentral.Com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 10:04 AM
Updated Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 10:33 AM

 

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U2 noise row: Angry residents protest
U2 noise row: Angry residents protest

U2's packed concert schedule has been thrown into chaos after a protest by residents outside Croke Park in Dublin where the Irish band played their three homecoming gigs.

Angry residents blocked access to the team of trucks waiting to ferry 56 tonnes of sound and video gear to the group's next two dates in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

The band has just one sound and screen system for the entire tour and needs 54 trucks to transport it.

The residents mounted a picket in protest against the decision by Dublin City Council to allow the set-up to be dismantled overnight.

Residents say they have suffered enough after three nights of deafening music from the concerts and want to embarrass the council and the GAA for allowing the all-night noise.

The council gave the go-ahead for 44 hours of continuous work on the stage which meant sleepless nights for residents.

 

One protestor, who did not want to be named, said she loved U2 but was furious over the noise.

 

"We've been like prisoners in our own homes since the concerts started," she said.

 

"It was bad enough putting up with the three nights of noise but the non-stop hammering and banging since last night has almost driven me over the edge."

 

"If Bono or the Edge had to live in my house the past few nights they would have been driven mad with the noise."

 

Tour promoters MCD hit back with letters warning residents that they could be held responsible if the tour loses money because of the protests.

 

But a spokesman for the Croke Park Area Residents' Committee said  no one was "interested, in any way, in delaying U2 in any shape or form."

David Purdue said: "This is primarily to get Dublin City Council and the Gaelic Athletic Association to take notice of us and recognize the damage they're doing to the local community."

Jake Berry, the 360 tour director said the band would not try and send trucks across the picket lines.

 

He said U2 did not want to risk any accidents in the stand-off.

 

"We should all not be talking to you and (should be) on a boat," he told reporters in Ireland this morning. "It affects the tour schedule. Read that any way you want," he said.

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