Hand held metal detectors or antiquated and don’t show up plastics and knives can be plastic and just as effective ..

*are

Full airport metal detectors don’t detect plastic either. If you are suggesting using a backscatter x-ray, good luck…

Metal detectors don’t detect plastic. Wow. Get out of town!

I completely agree Michael. It has to be a change in the Irish mindset along with personal responsibility.

Waltz right in with your nalgene whiskey flask and ceramic knife…

Kick ‘em out and ban them. Simples.

So we give TSA style unqualified unveted bouncers the right to take away our liberties. Slow creeping fascism. People be careful what you ask for. Its start in the airport and before you know it you won’t be allowed to do anything or go anywhere without a TSA goon giving you permission

Yeah those Daniel O Donnell fans are nothing but crazy.

i voted I Dont Know as thought the same as you Steve

Why “some” gigs? My sister was recently horrified by the anti-social behaviour at the Westlife gig in Dublin. She said she felt much safer at a heavy metal gig I brought her to. What does that say about misjudged preconceptions?

All gigs? I don’t recall all hell breaking loose at the Barbara Streisand gig in Cellbridge when things were going wrong. Sorry but not practical imo. Some gigs are clearly more ‘at risk’ and patrons’ wellbeing should be paramount.

Should have an “all gig” option. Was there not a riot, at or before a bob Dylan gig some years back? Bet nobody predicted that.

Should have an “all gig” option. Was there not a riot, at or before a bob Dylan gig some years back? Bet nobody predicted that..

Steve – right on Steve. Much better to waste everybody’s time and incur the associated extra costs than deal with reality and risk hurting someone’s feelings.

@ silent fugitive, if they can manage to check everybody with a metal detector wand and a quick bag search in the philippines. going into shopping centres, they can surely mange it for everyone going into a concert

Fu**ing nanny state so sick of this!! Another minister looking for some press pages bunch of wasters.

Jaysus, one nutjob let loose with a knife, aside from that it was a pretty normal gig. But at the same time, all the best electronic music is underground anyway and so won’t be affected by this.

Poll, a pole holds up a tent! Otherwise I agree with your point

Agreed. Private security often either doesn’t do anything, or does way too much.

I disagree to some extent. Yes, the security that was there and private security in general don’t care a whole lot. However, I don’t think they would have been able to prevent such an incident from happening. We need to prevent this items from being brought into such venues and also we need to educate the youth of this country that carrying weapons of any kind is not to be tolerated.

going a bit far that Jonathan, after all those attending have to suffer 2 hours of Danial ,punishment enough i’d say! then again you’d think that would be a deterant in its self .

Yes, Irish people need to be protected from themselves so we should assign one security person per punter. Security was more than enough.

Comment of the Millennium

Yea I agree with B Daly, a couple of thousand people turning up 20 minutes before a gig starts and getting searched would only result in public order incidents, stabbings outside the venue, not to mention a crush with people trying to rush in.
The amount of people stabbed at Oxygen last year and robbed at knife point was unbelievable and there is no way of searching every vehicle.

You have to discriminate- only search people that look like they will cause trouble or that may carry a weapon and then it’s possible.

If people get into the mindset that you have to go through these checks before entering the gig, like most gigs in the US, they won’t be arriving 20 minutes before the gig starts.
The use of handheld metal detectors are used across Europe and widely in the US. For the safety of festival/concert goers, these changes need to be implemented. In saying that, in some cases the fist or boot can be just as deadly as a knife and so there also needs to be a change in the way people think it is socially acceptable to be off your face at a gig. Don’t get me wrong, we all need a few pints to truly enjoy the night but there comes a limit.

I can see it now – ” Ladies and Gentlemen, please remove your belts and your shoes and place all metal objects in the tray”, the gig would never start! :-D

Correction, the gig would start without you because you were too busy knocking back the pints and couldn’t be bothered going in early to show some support for the support act.

So you are in favour of full body searches, pat downs, X-ray and or metal detectors at jedward gigs for instance or did you just post before thinking things through?

I also heard from a friend that the were very few female security personnel thus females attending the concert couldn’t be patted down before entering. Like most legislation in this country, our event laws are outdated and need to get up to speed fast.

A quick edit to Sec. 21 of CJ(P.O)A,94 would allow Gardaí to refuse entry to a person who was overly intoxicated (either from drink or drugs) and you could start from there.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1994/en/act/pub/0002/sec0021.html#sec21

Hand helds, yes. But sniffer dogs …are you for real. Not all of us want a nanny.

lol. sniffer dogs would go bonkers at a gig like that :-D

No we wouldn’t go bonkers, if you slip us a few quid ;)

Exhibit A:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ8KJ-CihhE&feature=player_embedded#!

Don’t be ridiculous! You are attending a private event and thus, similarly to going on a flight, you are subject to strict rules set out by the promotional staff. Whatever suggestions people have, I think what the SHM concert showed was that a change to event legislation is needed. What that change is needs to be discussed between promotional groups and the government, while ensuring we get a balance of cheap event tickets as well as a safe environment to enjoy the act.

I was being sarcastic.

My point being that security checkpoints don’t tackle the root cause. They are not the real issue but rather the type of people being produced by society. Something is wrong at a much more fundamental level.

Yes and until we can educate the youth of this country that carrying weapons is unacceptable there needs to be an adjustment to event legislation. Besides, you can educate young kids all you want but there will always the few who just don’t care.
For the safety of all attending concerts, I would be more than happy going through a set of “security checkpoints”

Legislating for something like this is not the answer

??? Are you serious Michelle. You think people are going to get stabbed at Simon and Garfunkel gig? The Boss is coming over soon, so you think there will be any trouble besides a few drunk people.
Dance music has a culture of drugs( pills and cocaine) where people go wild.
Simon and Garfunkel also have a small drug culture, hash. Two totally different out comes. So yes different gigs require different approaches

Just my opinion..I feel that regardless of music genre there will always be those out to ruin the event for others..increased security especially where alcohol is available can only help ensure greater safety for those who want to enjoy the night..

I know what your saying michelle, and there is no harm in extra security but alcohol wasn’t the main issue at this gig. When people decide to put their jacket, shorts, wellies on and make sure they bring a knife to a gig you know it’s not drink related. Social issue. Any of your mates every been drunk and said” shit forgot my knife, anyone got a spare”

I agree..it’s scary what our society has become..an event like that should be social one and not a case of fearing for your personal safety..

In fairness this is a shit poll, it’s not a Yes or No answer.

I think maybe introducing this for a big outdoor event such as last weekend’s or Marlay Park etc might be something to think about.
This type of thing simply doesn’t happen at gigs the O2, Olympia or Ambassador.
Also worth remembering that some of those stabbings were glassings, not done with a knife. Security are meant to stop bottles coming in, but it wouldn’t look nearly as sinister as a knife.

Will yis go on outtar that, I’ll bleedin start troubidle no mattar wheredere I bleedin go, securdity or no securdity!

Ireland is a small country. Concerts are always going to be expensive in order to get the big acts to make the trip. And besides, I think the general concert goers will be happy to know that they are in a safer environment.

If you need all these regulations to protect you from yourself, maybe you should consider behaving better.

Hi Will, 30 votes are showing up for ‘yes’; what number were showing after you selected your choice? It might have just needed a few minutes to update.

Still seeing nothing for yes. Maybe it takes a while. Just did an update on the Android application.

It’s pointless applying this to all gigs as its a waste of time and money in order to save the feelings of people who happen to like a genre of music that has a subculture of drugs and violence right down to their lyrics. Let’s be real, dance music and hip hop is the music that the gurriers in every town across Ireland choose. Why in the name of all that is sensible would you then inconvenience the pink floyd crowd for the actions of a bunch of morons who happen to like a very particular type of music and scene? It doesn’t make sense. Can you honestly tell me, when you’re stuck in a queue missing your favourite rock act because scanner number 2 broke down you’ll think ‘yeah, it’s worth it’.

*facepalm*

Are you unreal? If someone from your family were there and now dead or something, maybe you would agree. I’m not the kind of person that needs to wait for something bad to happen to me to learn, the wise ones learn from events that happen to other people!

I am very much real. And alive. All this despite having attended a multitude of concerts over the years. What are the odds? Even if someone I knew had died I think I would still not be reactionary enough to agree with pointless methods to make people ‘feel’ safe but in reality does nothing to stop actual violence by a tiny tiny minority of people with anti social issues. All this stupid suggestions will do is increase costs and therefore ticket prices as well as inconveniencing people and causing fiasco after fiasco. Utterly pointless. More policing inside and outside as well as barring orders for drunk or aggressive types would be much more effective. But if a metal detector makes you feel better so be it.

Thay, I don’t have to go to a gig in the Park to get attacked, stabbed or murdered. I can do that any night in Dublin. So why not have metal detectors everywhere. There is no proactive policing by the Gardai anywhere to prevent anti-social behaviour. They should have been policing the approaches to the gig properly.

@brian – please take your sense and logic and leave. You’re bringing the hand- wringing, hysteria buzz down.

You do realise that techno and trance are two different genres don’t you?

I used to be into electronic music.. I liked them both, but trance gigs over here? Forget it..
Trance has more widespread appeal, it gets in the charts, and attracts a wider range of people.. Over here sadly that meant more skangers..

If I went out over here I went to techno gigs, the crowd’s a bit more mature, they’re there for the music and not the “getting wasted”.. Yeah there was drugs, but not in an excessive way. The Dublin techno scene is a pretty tight knit community, it’s warm and it’s friendly – as noted by most of the techno artists who play here. You don’t get trouble at a Surgeon gig, but he won’t sell out a big venue anyway, a big trance artist like I dunno (it’s been a while) Tiesto, would. Broader range of attendees = higher risk.

So if your grandparents are still alive, and I hope they are, decide to visit the Phoenix park flower show, they should have to stand in a queue in order to be passed through a metal detector, frisked and have their sandwiches xrayed? Is it an Irish thing that we cannot be reasonable and say x type of show has a greater risk of trouble at it therefore we need to up security? That unreasonable or something?

Airport security works because airports are controlled buildings. Public amenities like the phoenix park are clearly not. If somebody wants to, they could easily conceal a weapon at the venue prior to the event to bypass the measures you suggest.

Jason and Scarr
It’s preferable to the chaos albeit rare an random that took place last weekend. The location is made sterile before the public are granted admittance then the security measures add to the safety for everyone. Scarr, it’s not about treating the elderly like crap or being rough with anyone. It’s simple about overall safety and enjoyment for all.

How many died at the Phoenix Park Flower Show? How many were stabbed with pruning shears?

@mark- its also about futile pointless exercises costs and resources directed at sections of society where they don’t need to be directed. No history of violence at the flower show but because we don’t want to stigmatise people who like house music we’ll make sure everyone is equally inconvenienced. These measures only make sense if you run a company that hires out metal detectors.

Detectors actually go faster than people. If they are setup with several entrances.

This is typical of FG D Keating to jump on the bandwagon, regarding safety issues. Recently FG called for a ban on smoking in a public place, (for safety reasons of course). Now they are at it again. This is complete hyperbole. No security measures can prevent a nutter from causing harm at any public gathering. Despite all the inference, musical type preference does NOT make someone more or less likely to be a nutter. Soon FG will make all gatherings of the public illegal, for health and safety reasons of course. I wonder will D Keating rush out with his sheep to call for the same security measures at sporting events as soon as there is another violent crowd outburst at a match( I seem to remember a ref being attacked at a football match) but wait I hear you say, these people weren’t listening to a certain kind of music and therefore couldn’t be objectionable.