Thomond Park concerts set to attract over 100,000 to Limerick this weekend

A LINE-UP of heavyweight acts will have Thomond Park rocking this weekend.
Snow Patrol will open the festivities on Friday, July 12, followed by Paolo Nutini the next day.
And for the grand finale, Liam Gallagher will perform as part of his Definitely Maybe 30 Years tour on Sunday.
A line-up John Cantwell, stadium director of Thomond Park and full-time “old rocker”, is delighted with.
When an opportunity came up for John to be involved in the redevelopment of the stadium, it was a no-brainer. Now based in Ennis, the Kilkenny native has been working in Limerick since 1998. His ultimate goal? Bring in the ‘wow’ factor to the region.
“The fact that Limerick is actually hosting major concerts and has a reputation throughout, not just the country, but internationally as well, is positive. Whether it’s Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Dermot Kennedy, and now we’re looking at Snow Patrol, Paolo Nutini and Liam Gallagher. People sit up and take notice and say, Wow, Limerick is on the map. We’re proud to be playing a part in that,” John said.
According to him, Limerick’s location makes it the perfect choice for a promoter who is looking to bring concerts outside of Dublin.
“We have such a fantastic venue at Thomond Park, that’s what it was built for. Not just for rugby, but every type of event.”

READ MORE: All you need to know ahead of weekend of concerts in Thomond Park

This July, 100, 000 people are expected to attend the three concerts at Munster Rugby’s home grounds – an attractive experience, both in terms of culture and economy.
“Over the whole weekend, we would be looking at the bones of 100,000 people attending between the three concerts, which is fantastic for the stadium, but also for the region and all the business and the economic impact it will give,” he says.
“So many people that live in the region will get the opportunity to pop in and go to an international class concert rather than taking the hike up to Dublin and paying all those hotel bills and petrol and everything that goes with it. This is what we love to do. We love to bring this type of experience to the people of the Limerick region.”