Sheer joy as Cork celebrates three epic nights

Concert promoter Peter Aiken has hailed Ed Sheeran’s three-night stint in Páirc Uí Chaoimh as a “once in a lifetime experience” that will be hard to repeat but said he hopes to bring other major acts to the stadium in the future.

The mega-popstar played a blinder at the redeveloped stadium with Aiken saying the young singer had achieved something not even Michael Jackson could have pulled off.

“Not everyone can do three nights, I can’t think of too many artists who could do three nights to be honest.”

He was full of praise for Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the planning and organisation around the event. “The venue is great, it worked fantastically. It looked amazing, it really worked and anyone who came was well impressed.

“Ed loved the show. He loved it.”

Looking ahead, Mr Aiken said he hopes this is the start of a plethora of Cork concerts hosted at the redeveloped stadium.

“I hope this is the start of a number of concerts coming to Cork, but you have got to remember there are big venues all over Ireland, Croke Park, Aviva. It is not as big a business as it is made out to be, there are only a handful of artists who could do something like this.

“Nobody has ever done what this young fella has done before. Nobody has ever sold that amount of tickets,” Mr Aiken said.

CEO of the Cork Business Association Lawrence Owens said it had been a fantastic weekend for Cork and everyone involved should be really proud.

“Hats off to everyone involved, it was a brilliant weekend. There was a tremendous buzz about the city, shops were full of people and pubs and restaurants were packed.”

Local businessman Ernest Cantillon, who owns Electric and Sober Lane, said Saturday was one of the busiest days and nights he had ever seen in his venues. “On Saturday we went 14 hours without any let-up. There was a tiny lull around 6pm as people headed to the concert, but with the sun out, we were still busy. It was a phenomenal night.”

Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald went to see Ed Sheeran perform on Saturday night and he said it was an amazing family occasion with a fabulous atmosphere.

“It was a high-class concert. World class entertainment. I have to thank Aiken promotions and the support services, it was a great showcase of what Cork is capable of.

Sergeant Peter Murphy, who had been working all weekend at the stadium said: “There were a few small issues, but generally the weekend went very well.”

Local resident Paddy Mulley said there were a few challenges for local residents to overcome, such as a multitude of individuals urinating in their gardens and some “loutish” anti-social behaviour from people leaving the concert at 11pm.

“The more timid neighbours were on lockdown all weekend,” Mr Mulley said, “They couldn’t go anywhere.” Despite these issues, Mr Mulley complimented the Gardaí for their stewarding of the event.

“They were very efficient,” Mr Mulley said.-