Restrictions at Slane to apply during concert

Only Slane residents with Garda passes will have access to the Co Meath village on the night before, and on the day of, the Madonna…

Only Slane residents with Garda passes will have access to the Co Meath village on the night before, and on the day of, the Madonna concert on Sunday, August 29th, it has emerged.

This is one of the key conditions laid down by Meath County Council in the granting of the open-air concert licence for Slane Castle yesterday.

Another condition is that the promoters, MCD, make contributions towards the agencies involved in the planning and running of the event.

This includes a payment of over €91,000 to Meath County Council of which €80,000, or €1 per ticket, will go towards environmental improvements in the village after the concert.

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The other contributions are €50,000 to the North Eastern Health Board, €97,000 to the gardaí and €12,500 to the Civil Defence.

MCD has to finalise an event management plan with the local authority two weeks before the concert.

This is to include a major emergency plan, traffic management plan, safety strategy statement, an environment monitoring programme and a clean-up programme .

The conditions state that the area affected by the concert must be cleaned, and that litter should be removed byTuesday, August 31st. The licence states Madonna will have to have left the stage by 10.30 p.m., and the concert site must be vacant by midnight.

The first acts are not expected on stage until late on Sunday afternoon.

The owner of Slane Castle, Lord Henry Mountcharles, said he was "absolutely delighted" a licence had been granted.

"We will pay as much care and attention as we have always done and focus on there being minimum disruption to the village of Slane."

He said he had received a large number of overseas inquiries about Madonna, who will play her only open-air concert in Europe at Slane.

The holding of the concert on a Sunday as opposed to the usual Saturday has been a cause of particular concern in the village. Locals have said that some of the 80,000 people attending will arrive in the village on the Friday and not leave until Monday.

However Garda Chief Supt Michael Finnegan said yesterday there was no reason for anyone to arrive early, as all accommodation in the region was booked out and there was no camping.

Mr Eddie Hudson, who helped organise the petition against this year's event, said that legal action to secure an injunction preventing it from going ahead was not an option because of the potentially huge costs involved if it was unsuccessful.

Details of the Garda operation, which will include traffic diversions, will be announced closer to the date.