{"id":636149,"date":"2026-09-26T00:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T00:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/636149\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T00:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T00:46:15","slug":"u2-fans-treated-to-surprise-dublin-street-performance-to-mark-50th-anniversary-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/636149\/","title":{"rendered":"U2 fans treated to surprise Dublin street performance to mark 50th anniversary \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d asks Hugh Maguire, an older gentleman who happened upon Dublin<\/a>\u2019s Grafton Street<\/a> on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

It was the question of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cU2<\/a> are performing to mark their 50th anniversary,\u201d is the answer.<\/p>\n

Asked if he would stick around to see the band play from the balcony of Bewley\u2019s, he says he has just come from an art exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had enough culture for today, I think,\u201d he says, though he believes the band are \u201cgreat\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve really made a go of it, to use a silly phrase,\u201d he says, before heading home to Ranelagh at about 4pm.<\/p>\n

A large crowd on Grafton Street had been building for hours at that stage, with four large speakers at Bewley\u2019s blowing the cover of this \u201csurprise\u201d gig.<\/p>\n

In moments of shared mania, people joined the crowd without knowing what they were actually waiting for. <\/p>\n

Some query what was happening minutes after shimmying their way in, and pursed their lips on hearing the answer, seemingly impressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d asks Charlie O\u2019Neill, a 69-year-old street photographer living in Santry, north Dublin.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not sure if he\u2019ll stick around, saying the crowd could become \u201cloopy\u201d once Bono<\/a> emerges. O\u2019Neill has seen the band play on several occasions, including when he was a student and U2 were \u201ckids\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also recalls seeing U2 perform at the very first concert to take place at Slane Castle, when they supported Thin Lizzy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud that they\u2019re Irish and the way they\u2019ve blazed the trail,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"U2U2 performing on the balcony of Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin on Friday. Photograph: Rich Fury\/U2\/LHP\/PA Wire \"U2U2 celebrate their 50th anniversary with a surprise concert at Bewley’s cafe on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Picture: Enda O’Dowd \"U2U2 celebrate their 50th anniversary with a surprise concert at Bewley’s cafe on Dublin’s Grafton Street. Picture: Enda O’Dowd \"ThousandsThousands turned out to see U2 perform on Dublin’s Grafton Street to mark the band’s 50th anniversary. Picture: Enda O’Dowd <\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill had just come from the lower end of Grafton Street, estimating it took him \u201cseven or eight minutes to walk 10 yards\u201d.<\/p>\n

The street was quickly becoming impassable, with visibly fuming passersby describing the struggle as a \u201cnightmare\u201d. Mothers and fathers wiped sweat from their brows and exhaled sharply as they attempted to get through a narrow passage that security had attempted to keep clear.<\/p>\n

Misinformation was also spreading from the scene, as a teenage girl was heard ringing friends and excitedly telling them \u201cWestlife is playing a surprise concert\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MembersMembers of the Flemish U2 fan club gather in Dublin for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the band <\/p>\n

Hundreds of fans from around the world made the rock\u2019n\u2019roll pilgrimage to Dublin for the weekend, many of whom travelled to meet up with like-minded fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out that U2 were going to be 50, I decided to book a hostel for this weekend,\u201d said Tilles Tijmes, a Dutch man living in Denmark who is a member of the Flanders U2 fan club. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew there were people going to be here and we\u2019re all big fans, so there\u2019s going to be a big party anyway.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"CraigCraig Molloy and his wife Stacey from Derbyshire, England, on Grafton Street for the 50th anniversary of U2 <\/p>\n

Craig Molloy\u2019s love for U2 is only matched by the love for his wife, Stacey. The couple flew over from England for the weekend. He proposed to her during the U2 concert at the 3Arena in 2017. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only place he\u2019d ever do it,\u201d says Stacey. <\/p>\n

Todd and Lara Garrison-Gebhart, meanwhile, came from Michigan in the United States for the weekend. <\/p>\n

They have been fans since the band brought out their first records in the early 1980s. <\/p>\n

They came for The Joshua Tree concert in 1987. \u201cU2 is always a good excuse to come to Dublin,\u201d says Todd. <\/p>\n

\"ToddTodd and Lara Garrison-Gebhart flew from Michigan for U2’s 50th anniversary <\/p>\n

Around the corner, sections of South Anne Street were being closed off, resulting in chaos for delivery riders attempting to collect orders from Xi\u2019an Street Food.<\/p>\n

Eventually, an almost uninterrupted stream of spice bags was being handed over the barricades, while shop entrances surrounding Bewley\u2019s were blocked.<\/p>\n

Amid all of this, Emer Bolger was seen excitedly asking her six-year-old son how many songs he believed U2 might play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be five,\u201d she says, hugging him in excitement as he sat on a bin with a bird\u2019s-eye view of Bewley\u2019s.<\/p>\n

From Tullow, Co Carlow, Bolger says she came to Dublin \u201cfor this\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a fan since 1985,\u201d she says. \u201cThe only tour I missed since 1987 was the Zoo TV tour. I\u2019ve been to everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EmerEmer Bolger, who travelled from Co Carlow with her son Senan, says she has been an avid U2 fan since 1985 <\/p>\n

She remembers sitting in front of her TV in 1986 when Self Aid aired, saying she recorded the concert and \u201cplayed it back and played it back\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew all the words off by heart,\u201d she says, before momentary panic sets in. Her eyes shift to Bewley\u2019s as the crowd cheers, but it\u2019s a false alarm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an Edge character in our house,\u201d says Senan. His mother explains that it is a figurine bought in Las Vegas, when she saw them in the Sphere.<\/p>\n

It was another two hours before the band emerged shortly before 7pm, though Bolger and Senan presumably waited it out.<\/p>\n

The crowd only grew larger and larger, with most of Grafton Street impassable once U2 emerged. The resulting cheers and applause were akin to a response expected at Croke Park.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the vast crowds started to dance, jump, sing and throw young children on to their shoulders as U2 opened with I Will Follow.<\/p>\n

Speaking briefly at one point, Bono was almost inaudible due to the chorus of screams, but could be heard mentioning \u201c50 years\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d asks Hugh Maguire, an older gentleman who happened upon Dublin\u2019s Grafton Street on Friday afternoon.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20530,26016,615,93,94043,61,60,26015,37866,660],"class_list":["post-636149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-adam-clayton","tag-bono","tag-dublin","tag-entertainment","tag-grafton-street","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-larry-mullen","tag-the-edge","tag-u2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}