2/28/2023 0 Comments Aerial photograph abandoned castle![]() Before 1981, if you’d asked someone how to get there they’d probably have had no idea what you were talking about.īut they would definitely have been familiar with its lush Boyne Valley surroundings, a historic region with artifacts predating both the pyramids and Stonehenge. On its 364 non-concert days, it’s a sleepy village of 1,369. ![]() Slane is about a 45-minute drive from Dublin, cradled in the green northeast of Ireland. The Hill of Slane is older than your grandparents even. The fears of destruction were never realized: The worst that happened was someone threw a bottle on stage while U2 was performing. And that day back in 1981 changed the future of Slane forever.”Ī ticket for the show cost only 8 punts (the Irish pound, its currency prior to 2002) and the crowd of 30,000 descended because, as Henry presciently foretold, they needed the release. “So he persuaded Thin Lizzy to headline, and U2 was one of the supporting acts. “He felt that everybody needed to forget about their troubles for a day and come together through music,” says Alex. But he decided to go ahead with the concert anyway. The village of Slane was adorned with black flags supporting the strikers, and the castle gates were tagged with graffiti like “Brits out,” among other unpleasantries. Here was an Anglo-Irishman proposing a frivolous concert in the midst of IRA hunger strikes and the recent death of their hero, Bobby Sands. And admittedly, the timing didn’t seem great. | Independent News and Media/Hulton Archive/Getty Imagesīut there was pushback. After a three year pandemic hiatus the Slane concerts are back, with Harry Styles at the helm. Next June we'll finally have another chance. ![]() Who wouldn’t want to play in front of a castle ? And who wouldn’t want to see that show? Hosting only one concert in a typical year, Slane Castle was a bucket-list venue for the band, and one of the most legendary outdoor venues in Europe. The setlist, as it had to, included a Metallica-ized version of the Irish trad “ Whiskey in the Jar ,” riling up a crowd of 80,000 pumping fists and the occasional orange, white, and green Irish flag. And then the rain stopped, and somewhat absurdly a double rainbow appeared, followed shortly by Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to the stage, almost aerodynamic with his black Flying V guitar. Up the hill to the side of the waiting crowd loomed a gray castle, brooding and drenched. It was raining that day in 2019, pouring even-common for Ireland in June.
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