COUNCILLORS are calling for the management of Pairc Ui Chaoimh to meet with residents to discuss traffic concerns ahead of the upcoming Ed Sheeran concerts.

The popstar is to play three gigs at the redeveloped stadium over the May bank holiday weekend and local councillors have urged the stadium management to outline traffic management plans ahead of what is expected to be an extremely busy weekend in the south-east of the city.

In recent weeks, locals have hit out at the volume of traffic that results from football and hurling games at the arena, with residents in nearby estates claiming to be blocked in by cars parked illegally in the area.

Fears have been raised that this situation could be replicated over the course of the three days of the concerts, two of which are completely sold out.

However, local councillors say that stadium management could calm many of these fears simply by meeting with residents and outlining plans.

A motion by Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill was backed unanimously by the other elected members at a meeting of Cork City Council last night. It called for such a meeting to take place as soon as possible.

He said, "There are major concerts planned in this amenity and we are simply asking for traffic management plans. The management of the stadium last week held a meeting with a select few people - councillors and Gardai weren't involved - and we have been asked for updates since. It is not unreasonable for us to seek more clarity."

Mr Cahill was backed by the other councillors from the area.

Sinn Fein's Chris O'Leary said, "This came up at a recent policing forum - access for the residents is key. There are issues regarding getting people in and out of estates and, simply, showing due respect for people who live in the area."

While the concerts received total support from the members, they said they are currently in the dark about how the attendees will get to and from the event.

Fianna Fail councillor Terry Shannon said, "The city needs to show that it can handle these kind of events and that is fine. But, we have seen things get manic in residential areas for matches and it is, therefore, only fair that a public meeting can be held so that we can assess what is planned and get input from Gardai regarding the traffic management plan for the area."

The process of obtaining a public events licence for the concerts is ongoing.