“ 50 yrs ago this very day ! WE’RE ALL IRISH,” the Fab Four smiled at journalists when they landed at Dublin airport on 7 November 1963, collars popped up to shield their youthful faces from the Irish wind. Affable, funny and media-savvy, the Beatles were in Ireland for their only Irish gigs – in Dublin and Belfast – and from their first entrance it was clear they were here to charm their dedicated Irish fans, and then some. Their two Dublin gigs at the Adelphi cinema on Middle Abbey St were sold-out, but the crowds thronged to the venue, desperate to get a look at their favourite mop-topped musicians. Among them was Fr Brian D’Arcy, who was ticketless but had sneaked out of Mount Argus in Kimmage, where he was an 18-year-old trainee priest. Inside the building was journalist Éanna Brophy, who had a badge that proclaimed him a ‘treasurer’ but who was really there to meet the Beatles for the teen magazine Miss. For both men, the Beatles gigs were remarkable, and demonstrated how different Ireland was becoming in swinging Sixties. When the Beatles first arrived, there was a small handful of fans outside, recalled Brophy. He was “totally into the Beatles”, and went along to meet the band at about 4pm. All he needed to gain access was a badge given to him by a member of staff. “Today you’d need about 25 different badges to get talking to anyone like that,” joked Brophy of his handmade badge. At 4.30pm, the Beatles arrived at the venue to “a little bit of a screech” from the assembled female fans.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:26:12 +0000
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