{"id":588854,"date":"2026-07-16T15:23:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/588854\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:23:23","slug":"slane-concert-memories-maybe-its-nostalgia-but-this-was-simply-a-magical-day-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/588854\/","title":{"rendered":"Slane concert memories: \u2018Maybe it\u2019s nostalgia, but this was simply a magical day\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

For generations, concerts at Slane Castle\u2018s<\/a> natural amphitheatre have marked the pinnacle of summer, where the biggest acts have played in the late Henry Mountcharles\u2019s enormous backyard.<\/p>\n

This weekend the venue will welcome country-music star Luke Combs<\/a> for two shows. <\/p>\n

Below, readers share their stories from 45 years of gigs at the Co Meath<\/a> venue, from the early days of Queen<\/a>, Bruce Springsteen<\/a>, and David Bowie<\/a> to Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/a>, R.E.M.<\/a>, the U2<\/a> 2001 double and more recently Harry Styles<\/a>. <\/p>\n

R.E.M., 1995<\/p>\n

This was my first concert. I was 18 with absolutely no idea what to expect. A gang of us got the bus from Fermoy. Nothing could have prepared me for Slane itself, though. <\/p>\n

The crowds, a heaving, restless sea of people. The noise, the smells, cans and grass and too many bodies packed together. But somehow it was glorious.<\/p>\n

We fell in with a group of lads from Galway, and God, to us that seemed the height of exoticism, meeting boys from another county. You\u2019d think they\u2019d crossed an ocean. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the music I remember most. My mother died when I was nine, and I\u2019d carried that quietly for years, the way you do when you\u2019re young and don\u2019t have the words for grief yet. <\/p>\n

Then R.E.M. played Everybody Hurts, and I closed my eyes right there in the middle of the hill in front of Slane Castle, and something in me dawned, slow and quiet: everyone really does hurt. <\/p>\n

Maybe I wasn\u2019t the only one carrying something heavy. Maybe everyone in that field had their own private ache, and somehow we were all just standing there together, hurting and singing along anyway. Maeve C, Co Cork <\/p>\n

Queen, 1986 <\/p>\n

I was only 14 and there was no world in which I was getting to go to Slane to see Queen (I\u2019d secretly bought two tickets with money from a sports prize). <\/p>\n

Lying in our household was probably the biggest and most punished sin, yet I brazenly told my father that Eric Clapton was supporting Queen and asked could we go together. In fact it was The Bangles. <\/p>\n

He took it surprisingly well, and at 88 still sings and dances Walk like an Egyptian to tease me. Queen was epic (think Live Aid times 100), and we sang and swayed along with 80,000 cider-happy people.<\/p>\n

I was still young enough to go on his shoulders. It is still one of the best days of my life. And my punishment? To bring him to every Eric Clapton concert in Dublin since. Becky Bristow, Co Dublin <\/p>\n

David Bowie, 1987\"DavidDavid Bowie at Slane, July 1987. Photograph: Dermot O’Shea <\/p>\n

It was the summer of 1987 and my idol David Bowie was playing Slane Castle. <\/p>\n

I bought tickets for my sister and her German husband, relatively easy and cheap by today\u2019s standards. <\/p>\n

The concert felt surreal: the stunning setting and David Bowie on stage (though we could hardly make him out or hear him because of distance from the stage). <\/p>\n

Back in Dublin my sister treated me to dinner at a restaurant on Wicklow Street. When I returned from phoning my mother who was babysitting my son (3) the atmosphere in the room seemed different somehow. <\/p>\n

And there was David Bowie sitting with his entourage. <\/p>\n

I tried not to stare but clearly everyone was slightly star-struck and trying to appear nonchalant. The man himself seemed relaxed, a little tired looking, smoked furiously (those were the days) and stick-thin but so elegant. The rest of the evening was a blur but I always like to boast I dined with Bowie in 1987. Joan Byrne, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2003 <\/p>\n

Days before the gig, 16-year-old me found out that a friend had pulled out and a ticket was up for grabs. I jumped on it. <\/p>\n

It was my first proper concert and we all piled into a friend\u2019s dad\u2019s Hiace van where some mattresses had been set up for our comfort. It was boiling that day so we all decided around Portlaoise that we\u2019d strip to our underpants. At one point the van stopped and we heard the driver speaking to someone. A minute later the back door opened and a garda stared back at three half naked sweaty teens sharing two bottles of cider. He laughed and closed the door and off we went. <\/p>\n

The Chilis were on fire that day and it\u2019s considered one of their greatest gigs. Cormac Wall, Co Cork <\/p>\n

U2, 2001 \"BonoBono and The Edge performing at Slane in 2001. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

The second U2 gig at Slane in 2001 will forever live in my memory. From getting the bus from O\u2019Connell street at 8am to securing pit passes, to enjoying the support acts (including a great set by Ash) before settling in to watch the second half of Ireland v the Netherlands. The day could not get better. <\/p>\n

The roar from the Slane crowd when Jason McAteer scored the only goal of the game will beat anything Lansdowne Road could match. <\/p>\n

Maybe I\u2019m looking at this gig through rose tinted nostalgia, but, and I like to believe this, maybe it was simply a magical day. Dan Barry, Co Dublin.<\/p>\n

Bruce Springsteen, 1985\"BruceBruce Springsteen performing at Slane in 1985. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh <\/p>\n

We were way up on the hill slathering suntan lotion on in the heat. Below us were two large shirtless men with big plastic containers of vodka they had smuggled in as water. As the evening wore on, they got pinker and pinker from alcohol and sun. They introduced themselves as pig farmers from Co Cavan. By the end of the evening they certainly resembled their animal charges. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile on stage, Bruce and the band were rocking \u2013 his energy and passion were amazing, and the music brilliant. The most magic moment was at the end, when Bruce sang The River, and the big screens switched to the beautiful river Boyne sparkling pink and blue in the summer evening. Marie Fleming, Co Wexford<\/p>\n

Harry Styles, 2023 \"NatalieNatalie Penny Whittaker (left) and Rebecca Whittaker (right) at Harry Styles’s Slane concert in 2023 <\/p>\n

Seeing Harry Styles at Slane Castle<\/a> was one of those unforgettable experiences that felt magical from beginning to end. <\/p>\n

The walk from the car park set the tone perfectly, with music thumping in the distance and the road carpeted with rainbow feathers that had fallen from fans\u2019 outfits. <\/p>\n

Watching Inhaler perform support, it was lovely to spot Bono proudly watching his son Elijah Hewson and the band from the castle grounds. <\/p>\n

Annie Mac kept the energy high between sets, getting everyone dancing just as a thankfully light rain shower drifted over. The drizzle barely registered, it simply became part of the experience. <\/p>\n

For a laugh, we disappeared for a quick costume change into a banana outfit before wandering around the castle grounds in search of the best views. <\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s performance was everything we\u2019d hoped for, with thousands of voices singing every word beneath the summer sky.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Harry Styles at Slane: 10 of the best moments recorded by fansOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Sadly, with babysitters waiting, a long drive home, and plenty of warnings about traffic gridlock, we reluctantly slipped away just before the end. <\/p>\n

We danced our way back along the road to Harry\u2019s final songs, and as we turned for one last look, the fireworks exploded above Slane Castle. It was a magical farewell. Rebecca Whittaker, Downpatrick, Northern Ireland<\/p>\n

Bruce Springsteen, 1985\"CrowdsCrowds at Bruce Springsteen’s Slane concert in 1985. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh <\/p>\n

It was June 1985 (I\u2019m 62 now) and it was Bruce\u2019s first concert (and biggest) in Ireland. I\u2019ll never forget it \u2013 absolutely A M A Z I N G. <\/p>\n

I was already a huge fan, but even now, every time I hear Born in the USA, I think of that beautiful hot summer\u2019s day and Brucey bouncing on to the stage to the intro. What a song to start a concert \u2013 perfect. I was not long back in Ireland having spent more than a year in Italy \u2013 and was just loving being back home.<\/p>\n

Bruce said afterwards that he was a bit worried for the people he could see at the front who maybe had a little too much to drink. Luckily, he calmed down \u2013 and so did the crowd \u2013 and it was just the best day ever. Cathy Kelly, Brussels, Belgium<\/p>\n

Guns N\u2019 Roses, 1992 \"AxlAxl Rose of Guns ‘N’ Roses performing at Slane in 1992. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh <\/p>\n

I got a last-minute ticket to the Trinity Ball in May 1992 and partied all night with friends. I then cycled home in my dress suit the next morning, changed and headed straight to Slane. <\/p>\n

Not surprisingly I fell asleep in the sunshine, got terribly sunburned and woke to what seemed like November Rain just before Guns N\u2019 Roses started. It was a brilliant concert, a slightly chaotic time and a very muddy slosh home on the buses. David Willis, Co Dublin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For generations, concerts at Slane Castle\u2018s natural amphitheatre have marked the pinnacle of summer, where the biggest acts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[15248,7562,18,117,16608,14323,19,17,9377,33788,48013,3380],"class_list":["post-588854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-david-bowie","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-freddie-mercury","tag-harry-styles","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-luke-combs","tag-rem","tag-slane-castle","tag-u2"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116930348472581557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}