leonardcohenforum.com

clionamhic wrote:Yes please, please come to Ireland again Leonard. We loooove you! As Mrs Doyle used to say, ah go on, go on, go on, go on......

sandraa wrote: And remember there's always Belfast again- even better Belfast and Dublin

vanvliet wrote:The Sligo Champion has a story about the cancellation of a proposed concert at Lissadell House at which Leonard was to have headlined - Cat Stevens also on the list. Apparently he was very enthusiastic about it because of his love of Yeats. It now looks like there is no chance of it going ahead. What a pity!

PLANS ARE in place to hold a series of open-air concerts at Lissadell House, the ancestral home of 1916 heroine Countess Constance Markievicz in Co Sligo, over the bank holiday August weekend.

Leonard Cohen is among the potential performers, although the organisers have said that no acts have yet been booked.

But concert promoters POD have given notice that they intend to apply for an event licence before the end of next week to stage four concerts between July 30th and August 2nd.

Preparations are being made to accommodate up to 10,000 people each night.

The concert organisers and the Lissadell House owners are remaining quiet about plans. They will say only that nothing can be confirmed until the licences are in place.

But the organisers have written to Sligo county councillors spelling out their proposals. They say if the shows go ahead they will end at 11pm each night. They also say they have opinions from two separate environmental specialists that there will be a minimal impact on wildlife and birdlife in the environs of Lissadell gardens.

Preliminary talks have already taken place with gardaí, who were said to be happy with parking plans and arrangements to carry concert-goers by bus.

Leonard Cohen was said to be excited by the opportunity to play at Lissadell, where WB Yeats frequently visited from his home in nearby Drumcliffe. The house Yeats visited would provide a stunning background for the concerts.

Lissadell is currently closed to the public while a rights-of-way legal argument prevails in the High Court in Dublin between millionaire lawyer owners Edward Walsh and his wife Constance Cassidy, and Sligo County Council.

The court row has already lasted almost two months and it’s expected there will be another five weeks in the case, with judgment likely to be reserved until after the summer.

Mr Walsh and Ms Cassidy, whose principal address is in Naas, Co Kildare but who use Lissadell as a second home, bought the estate for almost €4 million in 2003. They have spent some €9.5 million restoring it and claim they cannot operate it as a tourist amenity if public rights of way exist.