Meathman's Diary: If Oasis return to Slane in 2026, Lord Henry will certainly be smiling down on us with approval

"How many of you are at an Oasis gig for the first time?," asked Noel Gallagher of the 80,000 adorning fans that were eating out of the palm of his hand at Croke Park on Sunday evening.

The question came just before the reunited quintet broke into Don't Look Back In Anger, "well you're just about to experience singing it live with us for the first time," continued Noel.

And in keeping with the rest of the gig, it was memorable.

This wasn't my first rodeo with the Gallagher boys. Being half Meath men, their connection with the Royal County is strong, although our love for them might be stronger than their love for their Meath connections.

There were no songs dedicated to the people of Meath, although selected appropriation could assign the theme from The Royle Family, Half The World Away, to us, clinging to any sort of tenuous link.

The Gallagher's Duleek roots through their father weren't acknowledged. Their mother Peggy's hometown of Charlestown in Mayo was remembered by Fade Away, while Peggy herself, recuperating back in Manchester following knee surgery, had Stand By Me dedicated to her.

It was a mega show with an intimate feel. It was everything we dreamed of, and never thought would happen again.

Having given up all hope of a ticket, as late as Thursday night the ticket fairy came up trumps. There was no thought given to the price, the FOMO insisted this was an opportunity not to be missed - and it certainly was. It was the gig of a lifetime.

Sixteen years have passed since Oasis broke up, just a few short month after their memorable performance as headliners at Slane Castle in 2009, when tickets cost €76.50 by the way.

You only really miss something when it's gone and last weekend, Sunday night in particular, that fact hit home hard.

Having given up the ghost of ever seeing the Gallagher brothers reunited on stage again, their return was spectacular.

I had consoled myself following their break-up that Beady Eye or The High Flying Birds were adequate alternatives to Oasis. Liam and Noel doing their thing separately, sure it would have to do.

Liam Gallagher's Definitely Maybe gigs in Dublin in June '24 were effectively Oasis, just without Noel on lead guitar.

Those other shows were good, but the connection, the power, the emotion, the thrill, the energy of the boys together is a different level to them being apart.

The accelerated passing of time dawned on me all of a sudden last week.

Thirty years ago this month Oasis played Slane for the first time as support to the red-hot REM.

At that time I was 21 years old, world at my feet, still carefree as to what I wanted to do with my life.

Some might say, I just wanted to roll with it at that stage. I was feeling supersonic, life was being lived to the full, cigarettes and alcohol (no cigarettes, never smoked, thankfully) just going day-to-day, little by little.

Another Slane gig, another day of craic was all that was on my agenda in August 1995.

The intervening 30 years between then and now have whizzed by in a flash. The dawning of reality is that by the end of the same period of time from now I'll be 81 - scary.

However, I've no doubt that Oasis will still be central to my musical world in 2055, just as Elvis, Chuck Berry and Dwayne Eddy are to my 85-year-old Dad now.

If I make it that far, I'll be that wrinkly old rocker, still calling for another Oasis reunion, but probably still struggling to get a ticket because the world and their mothers all want to see Oasis.

I've been to every Oasis gig in Ireland, bar two. I missed out on the £6.75 tickets for their Tivoli gig in '94 and there was the small matter of an All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Tyrone in '96 that drained my resources and left me short of being able to afford the £22.50 for a ticket to their gig in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, where they were supported by The Prodigy.

In between those shows Oasis' appearance at Slane in 1995, where they were the support act to REM, was the start of the monster shows for the Manchester boys.

Playing to over a quarter of a million fans at Knebworth and 100,000 at Loch Lomond became the norm for the constantly at odds siblings and their band of brothers.

My Slane concert going days are much more refined now. I'm fortunate to get press access to the gigs, so repeats of drinks flagons of cider and cans of Dutch Gold by the side of the road before entering the greatest concert theatre in the world are no longer appropriate, yet still yearned for!

The memories of the Slane gig where Oasis supported REM are vague, whether that's down to the passing of time or the consumption of alcohol is not fully determined.

Flattened plastic cups filling the bright Royal sky, dozens of human pyramids popping up randomly all over Lord Henry's front garden and Bubbles' butt walk that entertained hundreds provided the backdrop to a musical extravaganza, headlined by REM, but stolen by Oasis

I've seen Oasis in The Point, in Marley Park, in Lansdowne Road, in Fairyhouse and again in Slane in 2009 just a few months before they split up following another innocuous row between the brothers Gallagher that ultimately proved to be the straw that broke the camels back and Oasis supporters hearts for 16 years.

Their set in Slane in '95 was only 13 songs and included Swamp Song, Acquiesce, Supersonic, Hello, Shakermaker, Roll With It, Some Might Say, Slide Away, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Rock 'n' Roll Star, Don't Look Back In Anger, Live Forever and finished with The Beatles hit I Am The Walrus.

They stole the show like very few support acts have even done at Slane (Robbie Williams in '98 when he outshone The Verve when only third on the bill behind Manic Street Preachers or Pearl Jam when blazing a trail before Neil Young in '94).

Last weekend the set was 23 songs deep, starting with Hello and finishing with Champagne Supernova and included a joyous string of hit after hit in between.

Tickets were scarce and the few that were available were priced way outside the original Oasis fans pockets. The band and MCD drew huge criticism for their dynamic pricing policy that left many fans paying over €400 for a ticket.

It's hard to justify spending that much money on an experience have I've had the pleasure of enjoying on numerous occasions and for as little as £25.50 in 95.

Maybe Slane might be on the cards for Oasis in 2026, if Alex manages to pull that one then his Dad will certainly smile down on us with approval from the true Rock 'n' Roll Star in heaven.

Maybe Slane might be on the cards for Oasis in 2026, if Alex manages to pull that one then his Dad will certainly smile down on us with approval from the true Rock 'n' Roll Star in heaven.