Carl Kinsella

Hear Me Out is a weekly series where Journal Media staffers give their hottest, coldest and, where appropriate, temperature-bending takes on what we’re all discussing at the water cooler this week. 

If you’ve got a spat that needs settling, or you need the input of The Journal’s extended family of agony aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. then be sure to email tips@thejournal.ie with the subject line Hear Me Out, and give us a take that you think the world needs to hear.

THE DEBATE OVER whether Bono is a rock star or a pox-star has raged on for decades now, with no shortage of perceived peccadillos for Irish people to pick apart. 

Despite forcing an album upon everyone with an iPhone and a sour taste over their tax residency in the Netherlands, U2 remain one of the most popular bands in the history of modern music, with no shortage of bangers. Music is subjective, of course, but let’s be real. Are you going to sit here and tell me that One isn’t a banger? Johnny Cash thought it was a banger. You think you’re better than Johnny Cash?

The band has been back in the headlines over the last week after announcing their latest album, Carnaval De Luz, and playing two impromptu gigs — one from the balcony of Bewley’s on Grafton St, and the other in the northside Dublin school of Mount Temple where the band met. 

U2 played a surprise gig at Mount Temple in Dublin to mark 50 years since the band formed there.

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen performed for around 1,000 students in the school yard. https://t.co/fZYcS04J5L pic.twitter.com/Cs8YDk3EFh

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) September 25, 2026

This week, we’ve surveyed The Journal media newsroom and other Journal Media staff to address one of Ireland’s longest-running and most unsettleable debates, and as you’d expect, generational differences play a key role in determining attitudes towards one of Ireland’s most divisive bands. 

Aisling:

I was 10 when Vertigo came out, and I remember thinking the opening “uno, dos, tres, catorce” (1, 2, 3, 14) line was the lamest/dumbest thing on earth. 21 years later, still do! Uncool.

Christine:

Being cool has a shelf-life and will garner so much media, but it makes it hard to be HUGE. Being middle of the road and a bit earnest is what a lot of people want, apparently.

Sophie: 

I don’t care if U2 are necessarily ‘cool’. I like when people are earnest about what they believe in. But I think U2′s convoluted tax arrangements make Bono’s campaigning on poverty very disingenuous.

David:

Bono is just cringe. Never forget the Zelenskyy limerick that Pelosi read out on St Patrick’s Day… 

Annika: 

I think they are cool, but maybe I’m just not cool. I really do think they are excellent musicians though; they probably don’t get enough credit for that.

Tara:

The SOLE experience I have of U2 is them forcibly putting an entire album onto my iTunes when I was 13 (had to Google this to make sure this actually happened) and I was fuuuuming cause my mam liked them which obviously meant they were uncool, and they were now all over my iTunes. Messed up.

Kate:

U2 lost any cool factor after the iPhone album incident. They also haven’t made a good album in over two decades, in my humble opinion.

Eoghan:

I second Tara on the iTunes, I can’t remember if you could delete it so it immediately started playing on mine every time I opened it up. I have zero recollection what device I was using, but I do remember the opening four seconds of what apparently was a song called The Miracle of Joey Ramone.

This might be one for the somewhat older generation in this chat: do we know what was the turning point in Ireland for U2’s alleged un-coolness? Was it after they blew up into global mega stars or did a lot of people feel like that from their very early days?

Sinéad:

I think it was from the very early days that plenty of people felt U2 were uncool. When I was in the US in the late 80s/early 90s, and they were huge, American friends would just assume I loved U2, and it was a job to explain why the attitude [at home] was more “meh”.

I may be misremembering and there might have been a very brief moment where we felt that they were quite cool (my friend Ailbhe had an October poster on her wall) but it wasn’t long before the feeling of “Ah here, will you ever relax” became the thing for me and most of my friends.

It was the earnestness. We thought Bono was a bit of a dose, always having a profound moment and taking being a rock star very, very seriously. At this stage I’m a more mature and tolerant person (!) so I’d have a fondness for U2 now, kinda based on nostalgia plus a “fair play to them” attitude. But as a snotty teenager trying to be cool myself, they were just too much.

Maria:

David, back for more:

The earliest cringe moment that I can think of was Bono having a go at a fan holding a sign that said SF loves U2. Bono thought it was a reference to Sinn Féin, but the gig was in San Francisco (SF). I’d say that forcing everyone with an iPod to get their album was the real “modern” turning point though. It kind of confirmed their sell-out credentials.

Mairead: 

My take is that it’s not a crime to be cringe or annoying. When you look at the calibre of famous and wealthy men, U2 are relatively good guys.

If Irish people would stop tearing down anyone (except sportspeople) who takes a risk, does a bit well for themselves, or expresses themselves, then maybe more sound ordinary people could become stars.

Andrew:

Similar to the above – U2 are uncool, but I’m not sure being cool has ever mattered that much in Irish music. Westlife are currently playing about 13 nights in the 3Arena and nobody has ever accused them of being cool. Dermot Kennedy, Kingfishr and Amble all seem to get slated for being varying degrees of uncool too, while sitting near the top of the Irish charts every week.

We seem perfectly happy to skip the coolness requirement entirely if you can fill arenas and people actually want to listen to you. U2 probably became too big, too earnest and probably too Bono to remain cool years ago. Maybe being massively popular while everyone insists you’re uncool is actually the most Irish kind of success.

Sinéad (different Sinéad from earlier):

I find the consensus that something is uncool somehow always being accompanied by insane ticket demand for definitely-not-their-last-tour concert tickets baffling. So for me the bigger question isn’t, ‘Are U2 cool?’, it’s ‘Is it cool to like U2?’. Ditto Bob Dylan.

Shane:

I think U2 are kind of becoming cool. Not in the sense that rock stars are cool. But in the sense that Judi Dench is cool. If you have a high-profile career for decades and nothing has come out about you that’s more terrible than “too much charity work”, you’re probably alright. It’s just a shame about their music.

This week, we’re going to give the last word to Casey Homer, a 15-year-old transition year student from Mount Temple. 

Casey: 

I thought it was really exciting, and I was really excited as I didn’t know it was happening. I had lots of fun with my friends, and it was just something I’ll never forget.

What’s your verdict? Are U2 cool? Sound off in the comments section. That’s right, we’re actually asking you to comment.