Feile 96

Point Theatre, Dublin

July 12 - 15

ANY rock fans will be perplexed and disappointed that Ireland's only outdoor rock festival is being moved indoors to Dublin's Point Theatre this year. The reasons for this move are unclear, but, given the obstacles that promoters MCD came up against last year, the Point may have been the only available choice left to them.

Feile's first outing was in Semple Stadium, Thurles, in 1990, when it was dubbed "The Trip To Tipp". Over the next five years, Feile grew into one of Europe's biggest rock festivals, and it featured such major names as Meat Loaf, Simply Red, Iggy Pop, Bryan Adams and Chris De Burgh, and also became the place where The Cranberries made the transition from indie darlings to mainstream megastars.

Last year, Feile was scheduled to take place in Mondello Park, Co. Kildare, but local opposition forced MCD to seek another location at the last minute. Feile 95 finally settled in Cork's Pairc Ui Chaoimh, under gloriously sunny skies and with a superb line up of top Britpop acts, including Blur, The Prodigy and The Stone Roses; however, attendance was disappointing, and the ticket sales did not measure up to the calibre of the acts.

Moving Feile from a 25,000 capacity stadium to the 6,000 capacity Point will lessen the burden on the box office, but it will also effectively remove Feile's status as a major outdoor event, stripping it of all the essential elements which make rock festivals so unique and attractive to young people.