Just what the family needs on New Year's Eve - a free open-air concert in Dublin's Merrion Square, featuring The Divine Comedy, David Gray, Picture House, Brian Kennedy and The Kilfenora Ceili Band. The concert is part of the city's planned millennium celebrations, which will include a Last Light Ceremony at 4.15 p.m. and the illumination of the 13 Liffey bridges at 6 p.m.
The concert is divided into two shows, at 2.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. The early show is headlined by Brian Kennedy and the family-friendly line-up includes Rebecca Storm, Donal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, the Original Irish Tenors (Niall Morris, James Nelson and Matthew Gilsenan) and the Hallelujah choir. The late show, for us grown-up rock fans, is headlined by the divine Neil Hannon. Tickets will be required for the second show, so if you haven't already booked yours (they're free at outlets countrywide), you're gonna have to get your New Year's Eve kicks somewhere else. No tickets are required for the afternoon gig.
RTE 1 will show the celebrations on the box as part of its 24-hour millennium coverage, so viewers can join Macnas and the Millennium Drum in the final countdown. The bells of Christ Church will ring in the New Year, and a giant fireworks display will explode from somewhere in Dublin Bay.
Some 200 Dublin buses will be on the go all day, ferrying people in and out of the epicentre of celebrations. Traffic diversions will be in place from Tuesday, December 28th, to Monday, January 3rd.
Contacts: Millennium Press Office (01) 6194241, website www.2000ireland.ie
Traffic info (01) 6662032, website www.garda.ie
Bus and Nitelink info (01) 8734222, website www.dublinbus.ie
