Following months of waiting, tickets for U2's Slane gig went on sale on Saturday morning 10th March at 7:00am. Hundreds of eager fans queued for hours through the night outside Roxy Records to make sure that they'd get a ticket (or two!) to next August's event. The gig will take place on 25th August and it will mark the 20th anniversary of U2's first appearance in Slane when they supported Thin Lizzy in 1981. Support will be from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Kelis, JJ72 and Relish. Niamh Moloney from Derrymore was over the moon as she was the first to purchase a ticket at Roxy Records in the Square. "It's fantastic", she said, "I'm really looking forward to it - I'm a huge fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've been queuing here since 1 o'clock this morning, but the wait has definitely been worth it!"
Tickets for the greatly anticipated U2 concert sold out in a record 45 minutes following huge demand. Other clearly delighted fans who had been queuing overnight were brother and sister, Barry and Grace Fitzgibbon from Ballyard. Barry was clearly playing safe, purchasing two of the much sought-after tickets. "After all", he said, "two are better than one any day - aren't they?" The tickets were priced at £39.50 each from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.
Queues began forming early on Saturday morning and many waited overnight in the light drizzly conditions. A number of fans even brought along their own deck chairs! It will be the first performance by U2 in Ireland since the Pop-Mart Tour in Lansdowne Road, Dublin four years ago. Tickets were limited to six per person, which a spokesperson from Ticketmaster said provided all fans with an equal opportunity to get tickets. However, not everyone could be accommodated, such was the demand for tickets. Many were very disappointed at not getting tickets and thousands nationwide will not have an opportunity of going to Slane. All 80,000 tickets were sold nationwide within 45 minutes of going on sale.
