Twelve people were taken to hospital due to “heat and hysteria” at a Boyzone gig in Tallaght in 1995, prompting the attorney general to warn the government that concert legislation needed to be urgently updated.
The National Basketball Arena concert on July 31st came as the band, led by Ronan Keating, had reached international stardom, with Love Me For A Reason at number two in the UK charts in January and So Good hitting similar heights in July.
Residents in the vicinity of the venue had put forward “serious” objections to the concert, while gardaí in Tallaght warned that the gig would be different from others held there because it would attract young people aged from 12 to 16.
In the event, some concert-goers fainted and were carried outside and given medical treatment by ambulance crews. Problems were encountered bringing stricken fans to hospital.
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The Garda later said “no arrests were made and no troublemakers were encountered”.
“Dr Brendan Whelan, Order of Malta, informed me that there were no serious injuries; they were mostly caused by heat and hysteria,” Insp E Dolan wrote to a superior after attending the gig.
Thousands had queued from 9am until the doors opened at 7pm and had not had not enough to drink during the day, said Insp Dolan, adding that there were difficulties getting ambulances out of the arena’s grounds because of heavy traffic.
Later, the attorney general, Dermot Gleeson SC, told the minister for justice, Nora Owen, there was “an inadequate statutory basis” for concerts, particularly those attracting large numbers of young people.
