Traditional Grafton Street Christmas Eve busking ends early due to overcrowding fears

Train Dragon

Hozier, Glen Hansard, Gavin James and Danny O'Reilly from Coronas all performed three songs at the event before gardai requested that the event end.



The gardai said they had to cancel because the crowd was too big and blocking off the street.


"We have spoken to the organisers and they have agreed that the crowd is too big. Grafton Street is no place for a concert. They will have to organise it better next year," a garda at the scene said.

It's Grafton Street on Christmas Eve, of course it's going to blocked up with crowds. Sounds a bit Grinch'y from the Guards.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/traditional-grafton-street-christmas-eve-busking-ends-early-due-to-overcrowding-fears-35319551.html

Dr Crayfish

I heard them talking about this "tradition" on Grafton St today. I never feckin' heard of it until today and lived here most of my life!

Train Dragon

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I heard them talking about this "tradition" on Grafton St today. I never feckin' heard of it until today and lived here most of my life!

Really? It feels like it's been a thing now for 6 or 7 years.

Oodoov

They heard Bono was on the way. Who says the Gardai don't do great work?

MadYaker

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I heard them talking about this "tradition" on Grafton St today. I never feckin' heard of it until today and lived here most of my life!

you live near grafton street and you somehow missed the fact that bono and glen hansard were playing there this day last year?

Cee-Jay-Cee

Train Dragon wrote: »

It's Grafton Street on Christmas Eve, of course it's going to blocked up with crowds. Sounds a bit Grinch'y from the Guards.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/traditional-grafton-street-christmas-eve-busking-ends-early-due-to-overcrowding-fears-35319551.html

If they had let it go ahead and someone got hurt or crushed then who would the good people if Dublin blame? The buskers? The crowd? No the Gardai would have been blamed for allowing such a crowd to amass.

Train Dragon

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

If they had let it go ahead and someone got hurt or crushed then who would the good people if Dublin blame? The buskers? The crowd? No the Gardai would have been blamed for allowing such a crowd to amass.

I can only asume that the years Bono was there that the crowds were much larger than today. Love him or hate him, he's the lead singer in one of the biggest bands the world has ever seen.

expectationlost

knew this would happen its too well known now or they should do it on different street each year, surely the raised enough this year around apollo house, turning on xmas lights had to end early because of overcrowding too

Dr Crayfish

MadYaker wrote: »

you live near grafton street and you somehow missed the fact that bono and glen hansard were playing there this day last year?

Yup never heard of it. Although I lived abroad from 2011 to 2015 so maybe that explains it.

Larbre34

Does not sound Grinchy from the Guards. It sounds unsafe for families with young kids and such. Unfortunate it became a victim of its own success, but the police have a duty of care to the public and thats the end of it.

May the homeless, the performers, the donors and the Gardaí all have a peaceful and serene Christmas. Keep supporting the homeless charities after the Christmas season. Thank you.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Bono and Glen Hansard.

I love Hansard, he has some beautiful songs. Probably doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

Berserker

Anyone else thinking that the Gardai's decision could have been influenced by the events in Germany recently? H&S is a good get out of jail card. Public gatherings must be a mare for them at times like these.

Outlaw Pete

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I heard them talking about this "tradition" on Grafton St today. I never feckin' heard of it until today and lived here most of my life!

Every year now since 2009. Bono there for all bar one I think.

The first year was the best. Feck all mobiles about. I recorded a little bit of it on a crap camera and ABC showed the footage on their news. How things have changed. Now you have forty or so iPhones recording them the past couple of years and so it's all up on YouTube now in HD, which is stark contrast to to the first couple of years. Although I think there is some pro footage of that first one somewhere as there was a crew there at the time. Think they were with the Simon Community.

Any year I went I was at the front and even there you can barely hear the likes of Bono who really don't have busking voices, so can't imagine why anyone would even bother to stand 70 or 80 feet back. Every Breaking Wave last year was class.

Looks like it could all be a thing of the past now anyway but tbh I'd like to see them do an official Christmas Eve gig somewhere each year for charity instead. Have the same thing were nobody knows which artists are going to show up and I bet people would still buy tickets for it. Iveagh Gardens would be ideal.

Agent Coulson

Do they know it's Christmas?

Dyr

Larbre34 wrote: »

Does not sound Grinchy from the Guards. It sounds unsafe for families with young kids and such. Unfortunate it became a victim of its own success, but the police have a duty of care to the public and thats the end of it.

May the homeless, the performers, the donors and the Gardaí all have a peaceful and serene Christmas. Keep supporting the homeless charities after the Christmas season. Thank you.

Grafton street is mental on christmas even even without the busking. You get these unmitigated gob****es who take their kids into something like this and then start demanding that someone should think of the children. Yeah you should have ya sap.

Plus you have the weird mania among certain people who would show up at an envelope opening if they thought demand was going to out strip capacity. How do you think Garth Brooks et al could sell out so many nights at Croke Park? The actual fans fill it the first few nights but its the bandwagon jumpers who panic at the idea of being left out who do the rest

Spanners, the lot of them.

Assetbacked

Bambi wrote: »

Grafton street is mental on christmas even even without the busking. You get these unmitigated gob****es who take their kids into something like this and then start demanding that someone should think of the children. Yeah you should have ya sap.

Plus you have the weird mania among certain people who would show up at an envelope opening if they thought demand was going to out strip capacity. How do you think Garth Brooks et al could sell out so many nights at Croke Park? The actual fans fill it the first few nights but its the bandwagon jumpers who panic at the idea of being left out who do the rest

Spanners, the lot of them.

Bah humbug.

Grayson

Berserker wrote: »

Anyone else thinking that the Gardai's decision could have been influenced by the events in Germany recently? H&S is a good get out of jail card. Public gatherings must be a mare for them at times like these.

nope. I think it's just you.

worded

What time did they start playing at ?

I miss this every year

mynamejeff

Grayson wrote: »

nope. I think it's just you.

not really , it would seem to be a prime target and very easy to attack with a truck or other weapon

Grayson

mynamejeff wrote: »

not really , it would seem to be a prime target and very easy to attack with a truck or other weapon

So you think the gardai prevented overcrowding on grafton st because of the possibility of an ISIS attack.

There's a conspiracy forum for stuff like that.

mynamejeff

Grayson wrote: »

So you think the gardai prevented overcrowding on grafton st because of the possibility of an ISIS attack.

There's a conspiracy forum for stuff like that.

id say the real crime is that beardy bellend glen hansard

Kivaro

I'm waiting for the 'loss of earnings' claim by those who wear the long black dresses and generally enjoy the large crowds .....