The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) says it is confident that next month's U2 Lansdowne Road concerts will go ahead despite High Court proceedings to try to stop them. The hearing has been adjourned until
Thursday.
A statement from the IRFU yesterday said: "The IRFU is confident that the U2 concerts to be held at Lansdowne Road on August 30th and
31st, 1997, will go on within the law, as was always the intention."
Earlier yesterday, an application in the High Court to stop next month's concerts from going ahead at the venue was adjourned.
Lansdowne Road residents are seeking a High Court injunction against the IRFU to prevent it staging the concerts.
Mr Tom Flynn, representing the residents, told the court that he would be seeking an order restraining the IRFU from making any unauthorised use of its grounds at Lansdowne Road. Pop concerts or concerts of any kind should not be held at Lansdowne Road until planning permission was obtained.
Last week, Dublin Corporation gave an undertaking in the High
Court that it would not take steps to prevent the August 30th U2
concert going ahead.
Mr Colm Allen SC, for the IRFU, said that the residents had tracked those proceedings to wait and see what would happen. By doing so they were guilty of caus- ing delay.
Mr Allen said that the matter was one of considerable urgency, as two concerts were being promoted and £2 million worth of tickets had been sold.
Mr Justice Costello adjourned the application until Thursday.
Problems over staging pop concerts at certain venues have arisen following a High Court judgment last year that planning permission would be needed for such events at Lord Mount Charles's estate in
Slane, Co Meath.