Top Irish musicians will play a concert in Dublin's Point Theatre to raise funds for a campaign against US president George W. Bush's visit to Ireland and the US-led war in Iraq.
Christy Moore, Damien Rice, Mary Black, Kila, The Revs, Katell Keinig and comedian Barry Murphy have offered their services for free to perform at When Bush Comes to Shove, which takes place on June 19th, a week before President Bush's summit meeting with the Taoiseach at Dromoland Castle.
The event has been organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM), which is one of the main organisers of the "Stop Bush" campaign and is arranging protests at Dromoland and in Dublin on the weekend of the president's visit. SIPTU and the music magazine Hot Pressare sponsoring the concert.
Mr Richard Boyd Barrett, chairperson of the IAWM, said: "George Bush lied to the world about weapons of mass destruction. More than 10,000 innocent Iraqis and hundreds of US soldiers have paid with their lives for that lie. The war has not liberated Iraq but plunged it from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein to the tyranny of a brutal occupation."
Mr Barrett said the IAWM was "at pains to emphasise that this gig and the wider antiwar movement is in no way anti-American, as some in the pro-war lobby falsely claim".
The Point's capacity for the concert is 8,500. Tickets will cost €30 (standing) and €33.50 (seated), plus agents' and Internet or phone booking fees.
The Dáil heard last week that the Government had urged the United States "to make every conceivable effort to avoid civilian casualties". Minister of State Mr Tom Kitt also condemned the abuse of prisoners and repeated the "abhorrence" of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the mistreatment.
Mr Kitt said the Government believes the strong UN has an "essential role" in the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people on June 30th. He said a new Security Council resolution "would be helpful in guaranteeing a peaceful Iraq . . . is reintegrated into the international community."