Ireland has traditionally been a very Catholic country but at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday a new faith emerged.
“Taylor Swift is my religion. She’s like God,” a young fan told a steward as she explained how she and her friend wanted to be right at the front.
“Well then God is a lot prettier than I imagined,” he replied before redirecting the two girls to their queue.
The long-awaited day finally arrived as Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour began its Irish leg. You might call it the Éire’s Tour.
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For devout fans, Friday night – the first of three sold-out concerts – is like Christmas. With tickets having gone on sale a year in advance, there has been a long build-up of excitement.
By the end of the weekend, Swift will have played to 150,000 people across the three Dublin nights. And that’s not including the people who did not get tickets and who intend to stand outside the stadium to overhear her perform her 3½ hour set.
In the Church of Swift, the dress code entails sequins, fringes and cowboy boots. Instead of offering signs of peace, friendship bracelets are exchanged. Hymns are replaced by songs from the 34-year-old’s extensive catalogue.
Kaitlyn Younes (29) travelled from Florida for the concert. She had always wanted to visit Ireland and when she got the tickets it felt like it was meant to be.
Dressed in a skirt made out of just under 300 handmade friendship bracelets – one for every song Swift has written – she said she has spent months preparing for the concert.
“I was trying to get tickets when I was in work and I was on my phone and they said: ‘Oh you shouldn’t be on your phone.’ But I said: ‘You don’t understand, it’s Taylor Swift. I don’t believe in a God, but I do believe in Taylor Swift,’” she said.
Swift is an artist that appears to appeal to all ages, with young children as well as older people in attendance. A man with his two daughters wore a T-shirt which said: “It’s me, hi, I’m the Swiftie dad, it’s me”. Another said: “Swiftie by choice (my daughter’s choice).”
As is typical, Swift opened her performance with the chorus of Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince before leading into her song Cruel Summer.
For Ciara, Lucy and Rachel McGrath it really did feel cruel. The trio travelled from Newry and sat outside the Aviva Stadium, in desperate hopes of obtaining tickets.
“We’re really hoping to get some for tomorrow if they release any more tonight. But we’ll come back from Newry if we need to,” they said.
Addressing the screaming crowd in front of her after finishing the first song, Swift says: “Alright, Dublin, that was wild. You know what? You guys are making me feel so good that I think it’s gone straight to my head. Ireland!”
The intensity of the support is no surprise given fans’ enthusiasm in the lead-up to the concert. Robyn Geraghty (16) travelled from Galway, after spending a long time perfecting her outfit by adding sparkly stars and diamantes. “I wanted to look great for Taylor Swift,” she said.
But there were longer-standing fans in attendance, too. Eleanor Jeffreys travelled with her sister Elizabeth from Newry.
“I have been a fan since I was 11 and I’m 27 next month. The first time I saw her was the Speak Now tour in 2011. I’ve seen every tour since that. She’s just amazing. She’s grown as I’ve grown, so I’ve never grown out of her.”
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