U2 will play a free concert in Dublin on March 19th, shortly after the band members are granted the freedom of the city.
The concert will be in the newly-opened Smithfield civic square, which can hold up to 8,000 people. It will form the centrepiece of a ceremony which will see Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen jnr, along with the manager of the band, Paul McGuinness, become freemen of Dublin.
The freedom of the city will also be granted to Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese human rights campaigner.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Mary Freehill, said: "We are thrilled they are prepared to do a short concert. It will be a great day for Dublin."
The Lord Mayor said that the band had always been very generous to their home town. "They have chosen to live here and pay their taxes here in times when other people chose not to", she added.
The concert venue, Smith field civic square, was officially opened last week after major regeneration work. It originally functioned as a cattle market from 1664, and as a fruit and vegetable market from 1913, before falling into decline.
Cllr Freehill announced the planned concert yesterday on RTE's Joe Duffy radio show. On the same programme, U2's drummer, Larry Mullen jnr, said: "Dublin is important to all of us. It gave us a break. This is where it happened, and people supported us and still support us, which astonishes me."
Meanwhile, talks are believed to be taking place on arrangements for a U2 "home coming" concert at Slane Castle, either next summer or in 2001. The group's manager, Mr McGuinness, and the owner of Slane Castle, Lord Mount Charles, have expressed a desire for a return visit by U2 to the venue they first played in 1981 and where they recorded The Unforgettable Fire.
