No Slane concert this year, Mountcharles confirms

Slane village will be a much quieter place than usual on one day this summer after the weekend announcement that there would be no Slane music concert this year. Castle owner Henry Mountcharles dropped the bombshell on the Marian Finucane Show on RTE radio on Saturday. "If everything had fallen into place, I would have had a concert this year because I think people in this country really need a lift but things didn't feel right. I am very sorry but that is the decision that has been made," he said. However, Lord Mountcharles said he was confident that there would be a concert next year, the 30th anniversary of the first Slane concert. He had already marked out 28th August as the date for this year's concert but had "reluctantly" decided that it would not now take place. Among the acts at the centre of speculation were Kings of Leon and AC/DC. He said that he had taken heed of a 12,700-strong Facebook campaign in favour of Kings of Leon as possible headliners for the show. "I have paid attention to that and I am still paying attention to that," he said, hinting that they are among the acts being considered for next year, the year in which he will also celebrate his 60th birthday. The concert promoter revealed that, at one stage he had been offered Bon Jovi, but turned them down because on this particular year, he did not feel it was right. Thin Lizzy appeared at the first concert in 1981 and, since then, Slane has attracted acts like The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Robbie Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and last year's headliners, Oasis. In 2001, U2 returned to Slane to head up two concerts to mark the 20th anniversary of concerts at Slane Castle.