Phoenix Park concerts fill an Oxegen-shaped hole

EVER SINCE the announcement was made before Christmas that there would be no Oxegen this year, there has been a giant festival-sized hole in the summer schedule.

A series of concerts in Dublin’s Phoenix Park starting on Thursday with comeback kings the Stone Roses will seek to fill the gap for what used to be Oxegen weekend.

Given the deluge of rain that has fallen in recent weeks, with no end in sight, it is perhaps fortunate that Oxegen is taking a break this year. The festival at Punchestown racecourse has had its share of rain and mud over the years.

The Stone Roses will be followed by the Swedish House Mafia as headliners on Saturday night, with support from Tinie Tempah, Snoop Dogg and Calvin Harris.

Snow Patrol will headline the final night on Sunday with support from Florence and the Machine.

Each concert will have a capacity of 45,000 and the shows will take place in the northwest end of the park, close to the Castleknock gate.

The prospect of 130,000 music fans walking on ground that has been saturated by almost three times the monthly rainfall for June is something that is exercising promoters MCD as they prepare for arguably the music event of the summer.

Event controller Louis Harte said they were employing an aerator tool called the Shattermaster, which breaks up compacted earth to get rid of surface water.

He described another machine called the VertiDrain as a “garden spike on steroids”.

Irrespective of what action is taken to ensure the ground is tolerably dry, fans are advised to bring Wellington boots as the forecast is terrible for Thursday, with heavy showers expected in the Dublin area.

The Stone Roses will be the star attraction for most older fans. Their three concerts at Heaton Park in Manchester last weekend in front of 225,000 fans received ecstatic reviews from critics and fans and there was no repeat of the drama at a previous show in Amsterdam, where the drummer did not appear for the encore.

This is likely to be the last chance for Irish fans to see the Swedish House Mafia.

The three DJs have announced that their present tour will be the last. Unfortunately, many younger fans won’t be able to attend. The gig is strictly for over-17s.

“We do quite a comprehensive risk profiling of the artists we bring in,” Mr Harte said. “With that artist there is such a wide demographic and we want to tailor it to the core fans.”

There will be no parking in the Phoenix Park for any of the shows. A shuttle bus will run from Custom House Quay to the site and patrons are encouraged to take public transport, particularly to Heuston Station, which is a 20-minute walk from the venue.

Private coaches will be able to enter only via the Chapelizod gate.