Leonard Cohen has no way to say goodbye to his adoring fanbase.

Those who turned to his now storied concerts at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in 2008 thought they were seeing a one-off.

It was a surprise when he returned the following year and then the year after that in the picturesque confines of Lissadell House in Co Sligo.

Last year he returned again to his old stomping ground in the Royal Hospital for two further concerts to promote his new album - the appropriately titled, given his advanced years, Old Ideas.

Now he is returning once again to Ireland. Cohen will play two shows at the O2 on September 11th and September 12th. He will be 79 on September 24th.

Cohen was famously forced out of retirement by the theft of his retirement by his former manager Kelley Lynch. She was ordered to pay back $9.5 million to Cohen. Last year she was sentenced to 18 months in jail for harassing the singer-songwriter.

Tickets for his O2 gigs go on sale at € 88.50 from Friday week.