€43m ticket windfall on the cards for Slane’s 2027 concerts

More than €43m worth of concert tickets could be sold at Slane Castle next year — and the figure could climb considerably once higher-priced tickets are factored in.

The extraordinary figure is based on the capacity of the world famous venue and the lowest advertised ticket prices for four major concerts due to take place in 2027.

Oasis will play two nights at Slane Castle on 4th and 5th September, while Fontaines D.C. will headline two consecutive nights on 26th and 27th June.

Slane Castle states that its concert capacity is 80,000 people.

Oasis tickets for the two September concerts were priced from €181.25 for general admission, rising to €211.25 for front standing and €501.25 for reserved grandstand tickets. VIP packages were also available at higher prices.

If 80,000 people attended each of the two Oasis concerts and every ticket was sold at the lowest advertised price of €181.25, that would represent approximately €29m in ticket sales.

But that is very much a baseline calculation.

With tickets selling at a range of prices — and the most expensive standard ticket costing €501.25 before the service charge — the actual value of tickets sold across the two concerts could be substantially higher.

The exact breakdown of how many tickets were sold at each price point has not been published.

Fontaines D.C. will then bring another two nights of concerts to Slane in June.

Tickets for the Dublin band's shows were advertised from €89.25, including booking fee and a €1 donation to Focus Ireland, with a service charge also applying.

Using the same 80,000 capacity and the €89.25 starting price, the two Fontaines D.C. concerts would represent approximately €14.3m in ticket sales.

That brings the potential value of tickets across the four concerts to approximately €43.3m, based on the lowest advertised prices.

And again, that figure does not include the higher-priced tickets.

It is important to stress that the €43.3m figure is an illustrative gross ticket-sales calculation, rather than a figure representing profit or money that will go directly to Slane Castle, promoters, artists or the local community.

The concerts will also generate spending beyond the ticket price, with tens of thousands of visitors expected to travel to Slane for each event.

The scale of the 2027 concert programme is likely to renew questions about the economic benefits for the village and the contribution made to the local community.

The issue has already been raised by local representatives and residents in the context of major concerts at Slane.

During preparations for this year's two-night Luke Combs concerts, residents raised concerns around traffic management, road closures, access arrangements and the impact of large-scale events on daily life in the village.

As part of the licensing arrangements, promoter MCD committed to a €61,000 community fund, to be administered by Meath County Council. The fund was increased from the €30,000 contribution initially proposed by organisers.

Cllr Wayne Harding subsequently said the community fund should increase to reflect the scale of future concerts, while also highlighting the economic benefits and international profile that major events bring to Slane.

The four concerts already confirmed for 2027 mean Slane is facing another exceptional year of large-scale live music.

Fontaines D.C.'s second date was added following demand, while Oasis sold out their entire Live '27 tour, including both Slane concerts.