Garth Brooks to play two concerts at Croke Park

RONAN McGREEVY

Garth Brooks is to play two concerts at Croke Park next summer.

The country music singer and songwriter has confirmed shows for July 25th and July 26th, his first in Ireland since 1997.

The 51-year-old made the announcement himself at Croke Park this morning.

Though the announcement was supposed to be a surprise, eager fans had tracked his private jet across the Atlantic and dozens were on hand when he arrived in Croke Park this morning.

One fan tweeted: “If the Croke Park announcement isn’t Garth Brooks, I fear the country will fall back into recession.”

Brooks apologised for being late as he had forgotten his passport. To compound matters, the windshield of his private plane cracked on its way across the Atlantic.

He described his previous shows in Croke Park, which were made into a bestselling DVD, as the “best shows I ever did”.

Brooks retired from the music industry in 2001 to rear his children, but has recently made a comeback with a series of shows in Las Vegas. “It’s always been a wonderful place for us. If Garth Brooks is to do a comeback special this is the place.

“Bob Doyle, my long-term manager, was talking about our recent Vegas shows and he said, ‘if you are going to make a comeback, you’ve got to do a special. Something that is huge. We said Dublin, Ireland, Croke Park in a fully reconstructed stadium. I said that totally joking, but we started to get into it.

“If Garth Brooks is going to pick some place around the world to represent the beginning of him, this is the place. Croke Park, if we’re lucky, will be the place set up to do whatever is next.”

He joked that he is 30 pounds heavier than he was in 1997. “I’m not getting any younger. I have to get myself in shape. When I come back here I don’t want to recreate what I did before. I want people to say ‘wow’.”

Brooks said the Croke Park shows are not part of the world tour, but are one-off specials in advance of his world tour next autumn.

Brooks made a bestselling video/DVD of his 1997 Croke Park concerts and said the place was special for him.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, January 30th priced €65.45.