Garth Brooks has heaped lavish praise on Ireland at the end of his sold out five dates at Croke Park.
Brooks said he has been “crying like a baby” many times during the 10 days he has been in Ireland, which included a tour of Wicklow, Kerry and Limerick.
Brooks declared it was not his intention to “kiss the ass” of Irish people, but “some countries excel in some things. You excel in being sweet to each other and kind to people who visit.”
His last show was a raucous affair which included a Queen medley and multiple “óle, óle, óles” from the audience. “Ireland, you have saved the best for last,” he told another capacity audience of 80,000 fans, half of them seemed to be wearing pink cowboy hats.
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There were many fans trying to buy tickets beforehand and the touts were trying to buy rather than sell, an indicator that Brooks had not exhausted his welcome in Ireland.
He promised to be back either as a tourist or performer and suggested that another tour would be a nationwide one rather than one centred on Croke Park.
“I just love playing here. Once you have tasted it here, you can’t come back here quick enough,” he said. “At the same time, you don’t want to wear the people out.”
Brooks is making two documentaries based on his time in Ireland. One will trace his time from his three concerts in 1997 to retirement in 2000, to the abortive concerts in 2014 and then to stadium tour in ending in the Croke Park concerts.
The other will follow his time in Ireland which included not only the five concerts, but his trip to Glendalough in Wicklow, Dick Mack’s pub in Dingle and an impromptu visit to the Munster rugby team in Limerick.
He was joined at a press conference by his wife Trisha Yearwood, a country superstar who also joins Brooks on stage every night to sing the Oscar-winning song Shallow from A Star is Born.
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The couple joked that they argued over the pronunciation of the Co Wicklow beauty spot Larragh and said their best meal in Ireland was in the Wicklow Heather hotel.
“I spent all my time just glued to the window. There is something magical about it. It has been a magical trip. It has been nothing but goodness and kindness,” Mrs Yearwood said.
Brooks said he had been too emotional to really enjoy his first Croke Park concert, which was last Friday night, but Saturday night was like a “prize fight”.
His highlight was Sunday night where it didn’t rain as had been promised, and he would have played long past the curfew had he been allowed.
He joked that he managed to get through five outdoor shows in Ireland and it hadn’t rained once. “I must have friends in high places,” he said.
Brooks is due back in Nashville on Tuesday to receive the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award. He intends to sleep and take stock at the end of a marathon stadium tour which began in 2018 and only ended tonight. Dates on it had been repeatedly postponed because of Covid-19.
He finished by paying tribute to his wife. “It is not hard to be humble. The woman who is holding your hand is more talented than you are. It is easy to be humble when you are Mrs Yearwood’s husband.”
