Snow Patrol sells out in Castlebar in record time

Snow Patrol sells out in Castlebar in record time


Edwin McGreal

TICKETS sold out for a Snow Patrol concert at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar in an astonishing 39 minutes last Thursday morning.
The popular band are due to play in Castlebar on December 6 next and with tickets going in record-breaking time, the Royal Theatre are optimistic that they can attract similar big names in future.
“Traditionally we’d be known as a place for dances and country music but we’ve expanded and having the likes of Snow Patrol, The Script and BellX1 coming soon shows that we have the ability to attract these bands and that we have the demand to justify it too,” said Sandra Hunt, Marketing Manager of the Royal Theatre.
“What can be a problem is convincing bands to come to the west of Ireland, that there is life outside of the big arenas in Dublin. Ray Lamontagne is only playing one gig outside of Dublin on his tour and that’s here so we’re doing something right.”
In all 2,000 tickets were sold for Snow Patrol in those 39 minutes. The Royal Theatre has a standing capacity of 4,500 and a seated capacity of 2,000. With Snow Patrol’s tour being a fully seated one, as the Northern Irish/Scottish band go back over a lot of their older music, 2,000 tickets were never going to last long.
Large queues amassed at the Royal Theatre and outside Downtown Records before the 9am opening for ticket sales while flocks of people sat patiently in front of their computers to buy online and, naturally, some were left disappointed.
“We would have loved to have got a second date for Snow Patrol,” admitted Sandra Hunt. “People were queuing from about 7.30am. There was a lot of disappointed people though but what this does show is that there is a huge demand for big acts in Castlebar.”