3Arena to close bars during David Gray concert this weekend

Following complaints of a raucous crowd constantly coming and going from the bar in the 3Arena during the English singer-songwriter’s performance there earlier this month, the bar will now close once his show commences in the stadium on Friday, May 2.

The 3Arena shared a post on social media that said: “Once David Gray goes on stage, all bars will close and will remain closed for the duration of the show.

“Please respect the other customers in attendance and more importantly enjoy the show.”

In posts on X and Instagram the morning after Gray’s 3Arena gig on the April 5, the singer said it was an “absolutely mental gig”.

“People were hammered,” he said. “It was so rowdy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an audience as rowdy as that. It was a bit out of control in a way. It’s very hard to weave the subtleties and emotional context and storytelling into the show. We just had to keep our heads down and power through.”

He added: “When the big songs hit, everyone goes nuts. It was like Space X-level lift-off. We’ve got another of these shows coming up in a few weeks and maybe that will be a bit more sedate. Who knows? But thank you Dublin.”

Last month Ciaran Byrne and his wife, Martha, had travelled from Sligo to the show, and both were taken aback by the behaviour of the crowd.

“It was so unruly, he had to address the crowd about it,” Mr Byrne said at the time. “You don’t see that often, but the weird atmosphere was notable from the off.

“At one point, he was paying tribute to Sinéad O’Connor and most people sitting around missed it because there was such a commotion going on behind us. Two guys there trading punches. It was grim.”

3Arena security quickly moved to halt the situation and eject the troublemakers.

And yet it was the more low-level antics that irritated Mr Byrne more. “It was an endless procession of people going to and from the bars,” he said.