Irish dilemma: go to church or Madonna?
Pop star Madonna came under fire from some Christians in Ireland on Friday after it was confirmed she would play her first-ever Irish concert on a Sunday.
Madonna is due to play Slane Castle, 30 miles north of Dublin, on Aug. 29, the castle’s owner, Lord Henry Mount Charles, confirmed.
“It is the only date and day feasible,” he said.
Joe Deegan, Slane’s parish priest, said the decision was insensitive in a country where 90% of the population is Roman Catholic.
“The Lord’s Day for a lot of people around this part of the world is Sunday and it seems a bit inconsiderate and insensitive that our religious beliefs are not taken into account,” he told RTE state radio Friday.
The last time Slane Castle hosted a major concert on a Sunday -- in 1984, when Bob Dylan played -- it sparked riots.
“I knew people would stir up memories of 1984,” Lord Mount Charles said. “This year Bob Dylan is playing in Galway on Sunday, June 27. So if he can play there on a Sunday, I am puzzled why there is opposition to Madonna playing Slane on a Sunday.”
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