Prince reigns at Malahide Castle

Prince came, saw and funked out in front of an adoring fanbase at Malahide Castle last night.

"I'm sorry it has taken so long," was as close as he came to an apology or an explanation for his cancelled concert in Croke Park in 2008 which ended up in the Commerical Courts.

It did not matter to his fans who have long forgiven his eccentricities in favour of his brilliance.

Fans were delayed entering the castle grounds for over an hour as Prince carried out an extended sound check after describing the sound at a concert in Cologne during the week as "indefensible".

His two hours and 10 minutes set was a bit shy of the three hours he was billed to play, but it was, as he had promised, a love parade through his greatest hits.

Songs like Let's Go Crazy, 1999, Little Red Corvette, If I was your Girlfriend and Kiss were interspersed with well known covers Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/ C.O.O.L from The Time and Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry while his female backing band did a version of Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love from Dylan's Time Out of Mind album.

He was joined on stage by fans during Play That Funky Music including by one who played his guitar and a female fan who stole a kiss.

It was not quite the glorious summer's evening as had been forecast earlier in the week, but the light drizzle coloured purple by the flashlights added atmosphere to Purple Rain.

He shoe-horned three of his best known songs Sign O' the Times/Alphabet Street/When Doves Cry into a medley during the encore. "I've too many hits," he complained half-heartedly.

Afterwards he posted a short tweet on his official Twitter account. "Dublin, we made history."