U2 eat mammoth pie in Dromoland

Indicating that perhaps discernible traces of the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle are not completely extinct, Dromoland Castle manager Mark Nolan received an interesting call from U2 manager Paul McGuinness last week.

Unable to touch down at Dublin Airport due to the icy weather, U2 had no option but to land in Shannon or Cork following their flight from Australia. Bono insisted that he had a preference for landing in Shannon but he had one tricky condition – only if the band could stay at Dromoland Castle, which was closed for Christmas. Hence Paul McGuinness’s call to Mark Nolan, who had to make a few calls to holidaying staff himself before the doors were flung wide open.
“No-one said no, in fact we were inundated with requests from staff to help out, unsurprisingly,” Mark Nolan said of his particularly obliging staff. Mark’s wife Maria was also brought on board and proved equally obliging and concocted a mammoth shepherd’s pie, which U2 made fast work of.
After devouring the pie, U2 partied the night away, according to Mark, with the help of bass guitarist Chris from Muse, who was there for the ride as support act to U2 on the Australian leg of their world tour. Mark also arranged for a traditional Irish band to come and provide some late-night entertainment.
The next day, the world-famous rockers were at it again and tore into a full Irish breakfast before heading for Limerick Junction, where they caught the train to Heuston Station.