MR Patrick Boran, the production manager with MCD Promotions, said that "general admission" concerts, where the audience stands, have been a source of concern in the business for some time.
There was particular concern about "moshing", which he described as "a bumping cars version of dancing". The solution was not to ban "moshing", which would not work, but a completely different kind of barrier arrangement.
There were two barrier systems in operation that night, the "mojo barrier" brought by the band at the front of the stage, and a system of barriers in the hall designed to control the movement of the crowd.
He first realised there was a problem when, in his office outside the hall, he could hear that the band had stopped playing. When he went into the hall he found that a girl had been placed on a basket and a doctor was just arriving. An ambulance was standing by.
Mr Gar Holohan, an architect specialising in concert venues and retained by the Point, told the court there were no regulations in Ireland for indoor rock concerts. There were bylaws dating from the 1930s for theatrical events, and this year two codes had been published covering sports events and outdoor concerts.
He said that crowds always tended to congregate in front of the stage. The arrival of more people from the balcony at the Point made little difference to the volume of people at the front, as there was still space at the back.
He said the barrier system in use had been devised after the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, and was designed to prevent the build up of accumulated pressure. He had no explanation to offer for the tragic death of Bernadette O'Brien, and hoped the inquest would provide the basis for finding answers.