Taoiseach says he would like to see Garth Brooks play in Cork next year

"We could have a few in Cork as well."

In the latest development in the ongoing Garth Brooks saga, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he would like to see the country music star play in Cork next year. It comes after news broke that Brooks intends to play five nights at Croke Park in Dublin next year. According to a Virgin Media News report on Tuesday, Brooks is tentatively locked in for gigs on 9, 10 and 11 of September in 2022 with an application for two further concerts on the following weekend (16 and 17 September) pending. Speaking in New York about the previous controversy in 2014 over Brooks playing five nights in Croke Park, Martin said: "Progress has been made over the years. "I think Croke Park has learned a lot in terms of its engagement with local residents. I think venues more generally now have far more proactive policies working with local residents to resolve issues, issues of significant concern. "That applies to sporting occasions as well as to concerts. People do need access to concerts and to iconic stars and that's something that we've always been good at in Ireland." Questioned on whether he would like to attend one of the Brooks gigs, he said he "would actually". "The point I'm making is that look, we've had a tough 18 months of a pandemic. Isn't it great now that people are coming back to perform?" he said, before adding: "We could have a few in Cork as well." Asked if he would like to see Brooks play in Cork, the Taoiseach responded: "Oh, absolutely yeah." You can watch a clip of the interaction below. https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1441112293547261959 Main image via Julien Behal/Rollingnews.ie