U2 Concerts 1978

A Complete U2 Concert List from 1978

This page is a list of all known U2 concerts that took place in Ireland, during 1978. Were possible I have add photo’s or memorabilia of U2 and also memories from those that were there.

10/02/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

01/03/1978 Community Centre, Howth

04/03/1978 Presbyterian Hall, Sutton

This is an unusual concert in many ways. It was The Hype’s last gig, and the first gig for the other three bands, the Virgin Prunes, Modern Heirs & U2.
After having won the pop contest in Limerick as U2, U2 play one final concert as the five piece with Dik Evans as The Hype. The Hypes set is made up of cover versions. After their set Dik leaves to join the Virgin Prunes.
Adam Clayton was on stage for the entire concert playing with all four bands.
U2’s set made up entirely of original songs.

Photo’s (Top) Steve Averill & Adam Clayton, (Middle) Kieran Wilde, both taken during the Modern Heirs set.
Bottom Left to right Adam Clayton, The Edge, Steve Averill, Billy Morley. Photo taken during U2’s encore.

This is the fist time that U2 appeared in the Irish Press. This clip is from the Evening Press gig guide.

The Modern Heirs who played the hall in Howth were:
Pete Hamilton -Vocals, synth, Steve Rapid – Vocals, synth, Adam Clayton – Bass, Joey Clarke – Drums, Kieran Wilde – Saxophone
It was a one-off performance and the band became a trio after that gig. Stan was in the audience at the gig though, (Stan would become a full member of the Modern Heirs).

08/03/1978 Celebrity Club, Abbey Street,

The exact date of this gig is not known, but it took place on the Wednesday or Thursday the week before U2 went to Limerick. U2 were still using the name “The Hype” at this time.
This gig finishes later than normal as The Hype & Revolver both play two sets. Phil Byrne (Revolver) has to speak to Larry’s mum on the phone and promises to put Larry in a taxi after the gig has finished. The members of both bands club together to pay for the taxi fare. Revolver and the Hype both play free of charge, any money they make is from the punters who pay on the door.
The Celebrity Club was a showband venue, most of the Punk/New Wave concerts played here were poorly attended as the manger of the venue did not advertise the shows. The venue only held new wave concerts for a short period as there was troubled at a concerts, it then reverted back to just a showband venue.

15/03/1978 Celebrity Club, Abbey Street, Dublin

They picked him up later I seem to recall. They did covers of 2468 Motorway and Anarchy In The UK that evening as they had limited original material at that stage. Neither band went down well with the regular boot boys who frequented the place. My friends and I had to make a hasty exit after the gig with a gang of heavies in hot pursuit. Survived to tell the tale though. D

17/03/1978 Project Arts Centre, Dublin

18/03/1978 Stella Ballroom, Limerick

22/03/1978 Celebrity Club, Abbey Street, Dublin

Support for Revolver
Admission, unknown

Ferdia MacAnna (Rocky DeValera & The Gravediggers) A bunch of us went to see U2 play a new venue, the Celebrity Club in Abbey Street. They played a loud, fast set and there was a small but enthusiastic audience. I noticed that Bono and The Edge were wearing strange, colourful jumpers that almost matched, as though someone had knitted them specially.
At one point, The Edge leapt off the stage to play guitar from the audience. A big space cleared around him. After a few moments, The Edge glanced back at Bono. “Get back up here now,” Bono scowled. The Edge climbed back on stage without dropping a note.
This the first gig U2 play back in Dublin after wining the Pop ’78 talent contest in Limerick. It’s also the last time they will play the Celebrity club.

Pic by Patrick Brocklebank. Bono on stage in McGonagles.
Set; includes 2, 4, 6, 8 Motorway, Anarchy In The UK

08/04/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support for; Revolver
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

27/04/1978 Memphis Rock Room, McGonagle’s, Dublin

04/05/1978 Memphis Rock Room, McGonagle’s, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support for; The Vipers
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

11/05/1978 Memphis Rock Room, McGonagle’s, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support for; The Vipers
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

14/05/1978 St Bridget’s, Finglas West, Dublin

Attendance; 300
Support; The School Kids, Virgin Prunes, Bach Street Kids
Admission; unknown
Photo supplied by Justin McCarthy

Set: unknown

Justin McCarthy

Justin McCarthy It was somewhere in Finglas…a community centre as far as I remember…I remember it ’cause I’d never heard of U2 and all these bored teenagers kept on waving their U2 badges at us while we were playing….when we finished Bono walked on and said …’anyone here like the Boomtown Rats and did a Rats cover…can’t remember the song though..

Tom Mathews

We only played, a max of 15 gigs, and were used to playing for about 8 people. This promoter rang, wanting 4 bands to play a charity concert for 300 people. The line up was to be the Virgin Prunes, the School Kids, a band that wore school uniforms on stage, and to my amazement U2. at the time I had never herd of them.

We had only played 3 songs and the crowd kept shouting for U2. I said lets do that song we rehearing. I said to the crowd, I want you to do something for us. I’m going to count down from 10, when I get to 5, I want you to shout 4, 3, 2, 1, to my amazement they did it. As U2 took to the stage, Bono said to how did you get the crowd to react like that. I said you’ll figure it out man.

18/05/1978 Memphis Rock Room, McGonagle’s, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support for; The Vipers
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

25/05/1978 Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Attendance, unknown
Support, School Kids, U2, The Gamblers, Virgin Prunes
Admission, £1.00

Image supplied by Dave Moloney
Set; includes Mannequin

This is the first time Paul McGuinness see’s U2 live. After the concert Paul takes U2 for a drink in the Granary bar next door. Paul buys the drinks as, legally he is the only one old enough to drink. It will take a couple of months before Paul agrees to be U2’s manager.

Hot Press Review by Karl Tsigdinos

They are fun to dance to, but the School Kids have more than a few wrinkles to iron out before they’ll leave a lasting impression.
On the other hand, U2 have only one big problem, conquering the “fast is good” fallacy that plagues them now. Already possessed of a fine rhythm section, a tangible identity, & a promising vocalist, U2 managed to negate the impact of their originals simply by playing too fast. What could well have been very clear songs sounded unintelligible & indistinguishable.
A glimmer of U2’s direction may be gleaned from the inclusion of Wire’s “Mannequin” in their set & if U2 can slow down long enough to be heard, they could step to the fore of the Dublin music scene.
Karl later told me that no one from “Hot Press” wanted to cover this concert for the paper, he drew the short straw when Bill Graham told him he was going.

00/06/1978 Mountemple School, Malahide, Dublin

Attendance, unknown
Support, Frankie Corpse & The Undertakers
Admission, unknown

Picture supplied by Frank Kearns
Set; Unknown

By this time Paul McGuinness is the U2 manager. This concert takes place on a school open day near the end of the school year, June or July. The stage for this open air concert is the low flat concrete roof of the boileroom, overlooking the school car park. Only a small crowd attend this concert & a lot of those fade away while Frankie Corpse & The Undertakers are on, they only get to play a 3 song set.

Frankie Corpse & The Undertakers are; Frank Kearns AKA Frankie Corpse (guitar & vocals), Ivan McCormick AKA Ivan Axe (guitar & vocals), Neil McCormick AKA Neil Down (bass & vocals), Keith Edgley AKA Keith Karkus (drums).

All bands members had been classmates at Mount Temple. Ivan had been a member of Feedback, in their very early days, attending the very first practice session in Larry’s kitchen. Larry Mullen introduced Ivan to Frank. This was the second & last gig for Frankie Corpse & the Undertakers, their first gig was also playing support to U2 at Mount Temple School.

Frank is currently working on a Cactus World News project, pulling together rare tracks and demos for commercial release & his Irish School Of Rock company.

04/06/1978 Blackrock Park, Dublin “Peace” Festival

George Prudy

George Purdy They used Papal Flags at the gig in Blackrock during an anti-papacy song. The Papal visit was in Sept ’79 which would have been a year after the pictured gig so I don’t know if there would be any connection. I remember on the day in Blackrock Park I wasn’t even aware of the existence of papal flags as I had to ask someone what the yellow flags were.

02/07/1978 Blackrock Park, Dublin

07/07/1978 Stardust Club, Cork

Attendance, unknown
Support, Asylum
Admission, unknown

Set; unknown
Apart from the Limerick talent contest this is the first time U2 play outside of Dublin. Asylum are a local Cork band, in the early days of the Downtown Kampus gigs in cork, Asylum were the house band. They would later be replaced by Nun Attax. This is the only time U2 have them as a support band. Sammy Sullivan Asylum’s drummer will become U2’s drum roadie in later years.

Asylum are; Paul Tiern (vocals), Christy O’Connell (guitar), John O’Sullivan, (Bass), Sammy Sullivan (Drums). I am not sure if John’s surname is Sullivan or O’Sullivan.

23/07/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

24/07/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

30/07/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

31/07/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin

05/08/1978 Phoenix Park, Dublin

Irish Press Review

Over 3,000 rock fans shared the leafy comfort of The Hollow in Phoenix Park yesterday for the closing day of a “peace” festival which was anything but harmonious.
The three day programme of rock “n” roll for gentle souls was marred by the arrest of the organiser, William “Ubi” Dwyer, distension among the workers and the staging of a rival event.
A total of 90 bands, which were to have shared three stages throughout the park, were said to be “lined up” for the festival and an audience of over 50,000 was forecast. It opened on Saturday with only one stage, a handful of groups, a trickle of fans and a split among the workers.
The national parks and monuments branch of the Board of Works had approved a one day event at The Hollow only.

Blackrock Park concert

On Sunday, the weather improved and a bigger crowd – about 2,000 – turned up to hear a handful of groups.
But the use of members of a Hells Angels fraternity as bouncers left many wondering about the original theme for the festival.
Meanwhile, also on Sunday, a rival concert, organised after dissension over the arrangements for the festival, attracted several hundred teenagers.
A number of bands which had withdrawn from the Phoenix Park programme went on stage for the alternative concert at the People’s Park in Blackrock.

Hells Angels

Yesterday the Hells Angels were still being used at The hallow stage as a couple of young Dublin bands entertained the youngsters who were packed the natural theatre.
A spokesman for the organisers accepted that the festival had been “partially marred,” but felt that it had been a success in that it managed to survive, despite the weather.
The groups appearing at the festival were asked to pay a £10 levy to cover the costs of advertising and the hire of equipment, and a couple of benefit concerts for the event were held in Dublin recently.

26/08/1978 Moran’s Hotel, Dublin

09/09/1978 Top Hat Ballroom, Dun Laoghaire

Attendance, 2,500
Support for the STRANGLERS
Admission, £2.50
www.stranglers.net
Ticket supplied by Michael Rynne

Set: unknown

Patti Smith concert ticket was over stamped with “The Stranglers September 9th Top Hat”.

Michael Rynne. That was great gig btw. Bono stopped a few songs into the set after laboring under a barrage of hocks and debris. He admonished his attackers who he referred to as ‘Dun Laoire bootboys’. His voice breaking with emotion he said that they hadn’t come there to play for them but for their fans. Then they played on undeterred. I remember thinking it took a lot of balls. And the rest is history as they say.

Bill Graham; Another Time & Another Place

“The next test was when U2 supported The Stranglers before their biggest audience yet at the Top Hat Ballroom on September 9. With no dressing room of their own, they changed behind the stage. Without a sound check, the Edge’s guitar amp spluttered with static & when he broke a string, Bono had an uphill battle against the Stranglers fans who gobbed him & threw lighted cigarettes on stage. But he didn’t shrivel. The band only got £50 & the bonus of some bottles of wine that they liberated from the Stranglers dressing room, but it had been a necessary blooding before a hostile audience. Facing them down, they had definitely won some new friends”.

18/09/1978 Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Attendance, unknown
Support; Virgin Prunes
Admission; £1.00

Advert from “In Dublin”
Set; unknown

This was the 2nd Annual “New Wave Festival” at the Project Arts Centre, U2 headlined the last night of the two week festival. Patti Smith kicked off the festival, other bands to play were The Vipers, Revolver, Berlin, Sacre Bleu.

Revolver & The Vipers both played at first “New Wave” festival at the Project Arts Centre in November 1977.

The poster on the left was designed by U2 photographer Patrick Brocklebank, he also did the line drawing of Ian Dury.

30/09/1978 Downtown Kampus, Cork

Attendance, unknown
Support for XTC
Admission, unknown

Advert from Hot Press
Set; unknown

XTC are; Andy Partridge (vocal & guitar), Dave Gregory (guitar), Colin Moulding (bass), Terry Chambers (drums).

Concerts at the Downtown Kampus are put on by the student union of University College Cork. Downtown Kampus is part of the Arcadia Ballroom. The promoter for these concerts was Elvera Butler the founder of Reekus Records.

This is U2 first concert at the Arcadia Ballroom in Cork, before Elvera started putting on the “Downtown Kampus” gigs here, only Irish showbands played this venue.
XTC also played 3 dates at McGonagles in Dublin, it’s not known if U2 also supported them on these dates.

24/10/1978 Holyrood Hotel, Bray

Attendance; 2
Support, unknown
Admission, unknown

Set; unknown
Despite there being posters all over Bray advertising this concert, U2 play this venue with only 2 paying customers, both girls, who spend most of the concert applying their make up. With there only being two paying customers, U2 use this more as a rehearsal than a concert. The Lypton Village were at this concert along with Patrick Brocklebank. Patrick would photograph U2 many times during this period of their career, but did not take any photo’s this night. This date is taken from Patrick’s diary.

26/10/1978 Arts Building, Trinity College, Dublin

Attendance, unknown
Support, unknown
Admission, unknown

From “In Dublin”
Set; unknown

This is a lunch time concert, the first of two concerts U2 play today. The second is at Bagnall’s in Mullingar.

U2 had an edge over most of their rivals when it came to these city centre gigs as they did not have to transport their equipment across town. Dik Evans (the Edge’s older brother) had rooms at Trinity College, which U2 would use these for practice sessions and to store their equipment.

26/10/1978 Bagnall’s Mullingar

Attendance, unknown
Support, unknown
Admission, unknown

Set; unknown

This is U2’s second show today, They also played a lunchtime concert at Trinity College, Dublin. U2 are billed as “The U2 Band” for this concert.

27/10/1978 Abbey Inn, Tralee

Attendance; unknown
Support to; Billy Roache Band
Admission; unknown Set; includes Concentration Cramp

Stacc Coll (R.I.P) U2 sound engineer 1978 – 80

My recall is A1 & all of it good re. working with U2. There’s a sizeable constituency that does nothing but berate/slag off U2, the price of success I think, the Irish model of success & much loved requiring you to be dead first. Ho hum & all that. They were not the best band about those times, that was Stepaside & no arguments, but they had a vision & an ambition that NO-ONE understood. There are other items, minutiae I suppose, like a two-night residence at The Abbey Inn, Tralee, where the van survived a fire-bombing, U2 slept in the only bed available [all of them][they looked like Laurel & Hardy].

Revelation

Paul [Bono] got severely grumpy when I contradicted his angle on Revelation, his stance being based on Christian scholarship & mine on a suite of music by Vangelis Pappathanisiou [title: 666]. Ho hum again …. Probably what I recall most is how he showed up at my Da’s funeral. When we carried the coffin out of the church in Finglas there was Paul. He wouldn’t come into the church, just waited outside. He looked at me & just nodded. It’s all little histories, forgotten by most as of lesser importance.

Transport

Things I forgot; The Frames [the ORIGINAL Frames], the best band that never got anywhere, & The Strougers, a bag of laughs who were musically adept & blessed with Bitzy’s presence. This was the gig, two gigs, Friday & Saturday, to make the cost of doing it right. This means bring your own P.A. or you end up with Donie McGinty’s orange boxes with speakers made in 1922. The cost also included somewhere to stay overnight, which The Abbey Inn graciously included. The most vital part was transport. Enter Phil Kavanagh, manager of D.C. Nein & everyone’s trucker. He had a Luton trannie with airplane seats! Not in the cost was me, sound. The sound didn’t matter either, just get a sound, the yokels won’t know the difference….. so off we went. Somewhere in Tipperary.

The Abbey Inn, Tralee

There was not another word spoken till we go to Tralee. The Abbey Inn was a dump. Donie McGinty’s brother’s pub, that sort of near – collapse entity. Sound check was to make the band feel OK. If you sound check U2 once that’s enough. The rest is getting the room right, be that a stadium or The Abbey Inn.

Fire Bomb

The first night someone tried to burn the wagon. There was a flash outside & Phil & me ran out to find someone had chucked a molotov cocktail under the wagon, the tanks of which Phil had filled an hour earlier. The van was not diesel. It was petrol engined. As in BOOM! Phil ran out into the wagon, over the flames, started it up & drove like fuck…. which blew out the fire, as much had took hold of the wagon. Welcome to Tralee. I can’t remember the gig much. There wasn’t much to remember, after the fire bombing from the Judean Peoples Front.

The concert

The first half was the band’s songs. Response zero. Second half they went into attack mode; a relentless blast of Rolling Stones & the usual sounds-like-the-Stones shite, plus a few of their own early songs, which were brilliant. Brilliant? Yes brilliant. One song I still recall the title of: Concentration Cramp…… I mentioned it to Bono later & he dismissed my comments as if I had just come down the river in a tub. Or picked holes in his doctrinaire ballocks, though I was still young & innocent enough to see how vindictive he is. For all that, they blew the place away. After the gig some punter told me THEM BOYS BETTER THAN WOLF TONES!!.. which reminded me of something.

And So To Bed

And so to bed. We, the band, Phil & me, were billeted in a room up what I can only describe as an organic stairs. It seemed to be swallowing us as we creaked up the steps. We had one room with one bed, a big double bed, but no way was it taking seven of us. So the band got the bed & we crashed on the floor. Phil & me had an instant another chance to talk about common ground we had, from London squats to Morocco. Every so often Phil got around to asking me why I was doing sound & not gigs, which I always avoided with another tale of squatney & such.

Laurel & Hardy

It was half an hour before I noticed the band. U2 were all together in the big bed, Dave (Edge) even had his beany cap on. The four of them looked like double Laurel & Hardy. They were looking at us, Phil & me, like we were extra-terrestrials. Not all of them; Adam Clayton looked both fascinated & hungry to know more.

Photo Shoot

Next day we drove up into the Glen Of Somewhere, plastic leprechauns for sale or rent, all that shite. There were several group pics, all-in pics taken, dunno who by. Bono probably to the films anyway, him being very much what is now called a controlled freak, though fascist is more appropriate word. Or little shite.. though that’s two words.

28/10/1978 Abbey Inn, Tralee

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; unknown

Set; unknown Stac Coll U2 sound engineer 1978 – 1980 (R.I.P.)
The second night was more of the same but smoother, no Judean Peoples Front etc. In hick towns Friday night is agro night; the slaves have a few bob & either they have a ‘good time’ or someone gets their head kicked in.

Saturday Nights

Saturday night is different; it’s time for the ladies to sniff out a good mate, for breeding & paying purposes, for the babies & the bills like. Cheap for a leg-over .. but a lifetime to pay. Marriage is mortgage spelled wrong, till death do us part plus vat. So Saturday night was o.k. They went into the second half like seasoned pros. It was something to behold; how fast they learned. It was a time of many discoveries, like buddha on the back line, Larry, the pillar of the entire edifice.

Back To Dublin

We drove straight back to Dublin after it. The band were asleep before we were near Limerick. The road home was me & Phil talking, quietly, not out of any protocol but in consideration. Phil remembered a gig I did wearing a Donny Osmond t shirt. I diverted that one with the [true] story of opening a squat next door to a cabinet minister. In Hampstead, only the best of course …

29/10/1978 Airport Hotel, Crofton, Dublin

Attendance, 16
Support, unknown
Admission, unknown

Photo from Another time, Another place. Set; unknown

Paul Bell “The Sunday, U2 turned up late and very hungry, (they had fish & chips on stage) they had been in Tralee at the weekend.
There were no more then 16 people in the audience, 7 of them were with me.
There was a wedding taking place in the next room, people kept coming to have a look, them going back to the wedding.

Bigger Than The Beatles

After the show, I spoke with Bono in the dressing room. I told him, you were great, you’re gonna be huge. Bono “Really how big.Paul “Massive”. Bono “Bigger than the Beatles?” Paul “Yes”.
He (Bono) decided that U2 would cancel the rest of the dates as this was not the venue from them. Paul McGuinness had been against them playing the Crofton in the first place.

02/11/1978 Arts Building, Trinity College, Dublin

Attendance, unknown
Support New Versions, The Modern Heirs, Virgin Prunes
Admission, unknown

From “In Dublin”
Set; unknown

U2 had an edge over most of their rivals when it came to these city centre gigs as they did not have to transport their equipment across town. Dik Evans had rooms at Trinity College, which U2 would use these for practice sessions and to store their equipment.

Hot Press Frontlines by Liam Mackey. There’s a possibility that U2 will record a single for the Mulligan label. Again, it’s all very tentative at the moment, but don’t say that we didn’t tell you about it first………

03/11/1978 Community Centre, Howth

Attendance, unknown
Support unknown
Admission, unknown

Set, unknown

At this time the exact date is not known when U2’s residency at the Community Centre started. U2 replaced Rocky DeValera & The Gravedigger’s as the resident band. Ferdia told me that Larry rang him to ask if U2 could replace the Gravediggers, but he could not remember the exact date.
There would normally be 3 bands playing each week, the Virgin Prunes would regularly be one of the support bands.

10/11/1978 Belfield, University College, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

This was a lunch time show.

10/11/1978 Community Centre, Howth

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

17/11/1978 Belfield, University College, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown

18/11/1978 Buttery, Trinity College, Dublin

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; £0:60p
Set; unknown

I believed this concert & the one in Ennis were been cancelled due to the death of Larry’s mother.
Capacity was 350 & ticket prices were set at £0.60p for the Buttery. The Buttery was a student canteen, many of the Trinity College gigs were for students only, non student could only be signed in by a student at the college.

U2 up through the floorboards Aidan O’Rourke

U2 had common origins with the Virgin Prunes. I had also witnessed their concerts, recording the sound with my portable tape recorder, so that I knew their entire set by heart. In some respects I preferred them to U2 as they were very edgy and experimental.

Virgin Prunes

Having seen the Virgin Prunes live several times and familiarised myself with their material, I had strong views about them. One day in the post office near Essex Street, not far from Trinity, I saw their lead singer Gavin Friday in his characteristic pale raincoat and white face powder. I seized the chance to talk to him and after introducing myself, I gave a full and frank appraisal of the music. He seemed to appreciate my interest and nodded attentively.

Dik Evans

I was also acquainted with the Virgin Prunes bassist Dik, brother of the Edge. During 1979, Dik lived in the room directly below mine, 28.2.2. Trinity College, overlooking Front Square. I often used to hear the latest U2 and Virgin Prunes demo tapes coming up through the floor. I chatted to Dik a few times and occasionally went downstairs for a cup of tea and a chat. He also appreciated my interest in the Virgin Prunes. He told me a lot about U2 and Bono, including the fact that the song ‘I will follow’ was about Bono’s mother: “Most people think it’s a song about a girl but actually it’s about his mammy!”.

Dave Fanning Show

In bed at night, listening on headphones plugged into my portable tape recorder, I used to listen to Dave Fanning’s show on the fm pirate station Radio Dublin. The reception was hissy, but the music was great. He often played demo tapes by U2 and other bands. That was my third year at Trinity.

20/11/1978 Greengrove, Ennis

20-11-1978 Greengrove, Ennis
Attendance, unknown
Support, The Verbs
Admission, £1.20

Set; unknown

It’s believed that this concert & the concert at the Buttery on 18th were cancelled due to the death of Larry’s mother.

22/11/1978 St Anthony’s Hall, Dublin

For a more detailed review of this concert, click on the “Punk Festival” link above.

24/11/1978 Community Centre, Howth

Attendance; unknown
Support; unknown
Admission; unknown
Set; unknown
At this time it is not known when exactly U2’s residency at the Community Centre started. I believe it was up and running by this date, Bono had told George Purdy that U2 “Were big in Howth” a few days earlier at the St Anthony’s gig.
U2 replaced Rocky DeValera & The Gravedigger’s as the resident band. Ferdia told me that Larry rang him to ask if U2 could replace the Gravediggers, but he could not remember the exact date.
There would normally be 3 bands playing each week, the Virgin Prunes & The Fast would regularly be one of the support bands.

19/12/1978 McGonagle’s, Dublin “Hot Press Christmas Party”

Attendance, unknown
Support for, Fit Kilkenny & The Remoulds, Phil Lynott, Gary Moore, Scott Gorham & Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy) Steve Jones & Paul Cook (Sex Pistols), (Dave) George Sweeney & Paul Boyle (The Vipers), Bob Geldof & Gerry Cott (Boomtown Rats), Brush Shiels, Noel Bridgeman (Skid Row), Phil Byrne (Revolver).
Admission, Unknown

George Sutton The Remoulds were really stoked to be hired to play that night. Doing our sound check in the afternoon we met U2 for the first time. They had just won the ‘Evening Herald’ talent competition! It’s a laugh now to think that we were pretty impressed with them and how original they sounded.

Sound Check

Sex Pistols

Later that evening, we were upstairs in the dressing room when we heard an almighty racket coming from downstairs! We rushed down to see what was going on and to my horror Steve Jones was cranking up my guitar at full blast. The reputation of the Sex Pistols as bad boys was legendary in those days and I was just waiting for him to sling the guitar into the middle of next week! Luckily Steve Jones turned out to be a much more ‘normal bloke’ than his reputation and all was well in the end!

Bren Farren of Fit Killkenny I remember that night very well. It’s not often that a band like U2 played “support” to us, Fit Kilkenny & the Remoulds. That is my drum kit that Larry Mullen is playing.

Route 66 & Pretty Vacant

Phil Lynott & Garry Moore

Gerry Cott & Bob Geldoff

The Greedie Bastards, a Thin Lizzy/Sex pistols band do a short set and are joined by Bob Geldof & Gerry Cott of The Boomtown Rats for a couple of numbers at the end of the set.
Paul Cook & Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), (Dave) George Sweeney (The Vipers), Larry Mullen Jr (U2) play a two songs Route 66 & Pretty Vacant.

Hot Press review by Bill Graham

It’s no secret at headquarters that I have a special spot for U2. Indeed I’ve no hesitation in rating them the best unrecorded band in Ireland and one whose potential is still barely tapped.
Unfortunately, circumstances weren’t the best for this review. Production of our yearbook meant that their two recent McGonagle’s gigs, the first for the Hot Press/McGonagle’s party itself, the second on the third day of this New Year passed without praise in print. They were simply the most exhilarating performances by a local band I’ve witnessed in the last twelve months.

20/12/1978 Stardust, Artane

No Fee

U2 are given the support slot after Bono meets with Phil Lynott & U2 offer to play this gig for no fee. The Greedy Bastards are a part time group made of members from Thin Lizzy & the Sex Pistols.

Review by Joe Breen Irish times 21-12-1978

The Greedies for last night’s concert consisted of all Thin Lizzy & two Sex Pistols, Paul Cook & Steve Jones. No Rats & no Elton John, but that was no disappointment in the latter case.
Indeed, if John had appeared he would have had problems trying to keep up the pace which Moore, Lynott, Brian Downey (drums) & Scott Gorham (guitar) set from the outset. It was with a few exceptions, including their new song set around Irish traditional licks, “Black Rose” (Roisin Dubh), a collection of Lizzy’s greatest hits. Though plagued by sound problems it was a furious set with Gary Moore displaying many of the qualities that make him one of the world’s finest guitarists.

Cook & Jones

They were then joined by Cook & Jones and proceeded to perform what could be termed as a Pistol’s greatest hits. By this time the packed audience had duly gone bananas emphasising their enjoyment by claiming two well deserved encores from the band.

Hot Press Review by Neil McCormick

The biggest Debacle, however was U2’s support slot for Greedy Bastards December gig at the enormous Stardust Ballroom. The Greedy Bastards were a part time outfit featuring members of Thin Lizzy & The Sex Pistols & so this was the hottest ticket in town. Everybody who mattered in the Irish music business & every hip punter in Dublin was there, but the Greedies disorganisation resulted in U2 going on without a sound check. They tried to cope by walking on one at a time to twang & band away for the sound mans benefit on an extended opening to “Out of Control”, but the audience were cat calling even before Bono started singing.

Ivan & I

Ivan & I watched incredulously, failing to comprehend how a group we knew to be dynamic & inspiring could be made to sound like rank amateurs. Maybe there was hope for all of us!.
“Everybody’s gotta fall flat on their face sometimes” said Bono afterwards. “The important thing is to pick yourself up”.

21/12/1978 Stardust, Artane

Attendance; 1,600
Support for; Greedy Bastards
Admission; £3.00
Set; unknown

At this time there are conflicting reports about this concert. It’s not clear if U2 or another Dublin band played the second night.