Residents of the north inner city were delighted when their hero Garth Brooks joined them for a sing-song at a local playground this afternoon.
The country music superstar played the first of five huge shows at Croke Park last night and will take to the stage at GAA headquarters again tonight and tomorrow. Ahead of his show tonight, Brooks took a wander around the local area and ended up joining in a sing-song with fans from Portland Place.
A huge crowd thronged around the singer and started singing his hit 'The Dance' as he posed for pictures.
Read more: Garth Brooks delighted to receive unique painting on arrival at Dublin Airport
Local TD Gary Gannon's mum was one of the locals lucky enough to meet her hero and he shared footage of the surreal moment on Twitter.
He wrote: "Cynical as you can be about the whole thing, Garth Brooks is currently having a sing song with me Ma and all the women of Portland Place in the playground and it is absolutely lovely."
The Friends in Low Places singer made his long awaited return to the Croker stage last night and was overcome with emotion during the gig. During last night's show he fell to his knees in awe of the adoring crowd.
Choking back emotion, the 60-year-old said: “We came back. I just want to enjoy this moment. I love you.” As the crowd chanted “Ole” to comfort the singer, he added: “That was so sweet.”
He added: “I don’t know what words could describe this, and the return since 1997, so I’ll not try. I came here for one purpose and that was to raise some hell.
“Dublin this is what it is going to be like all night long,” he added, before draping himself in an Irish flag as he performed his hit, The River.
The country music performed a stream of hits, including Friends in Low Place, Rodeo, The Dance, Callin’ Baton Rouge, The Thunder Rolls and That Summer.
The set also included a number of notable covers of Don McLean’s American Pie, Billy Joel’s Piano Man, and A Star Is Born hit, Shallow, which he performed alongside his wife Trisha Yearwood.
READ NEXT:
- Croke Park 'like Tennessee' as Garth Brooks fans arrive for first gig
- Dublin Airport weekend taxi warning as Garth Brooks kicks off Croke Park gigs
- 'Pandemonium’ on train to Garth Brooks gig as man says Croke Park concert cancelled in 'sick joke'
- Garth Brooks Dublin: How to get to and from Croke Park on Dublin Bus, Luas and Irish Rail
- Garth Brooks says Ireland return is because of 80s and 90s gigs, not 2014
Sign up for the Dublin Live newsletter to get the latest news straight to your inbox
