‘Bob Marley in the Park’, looks back at Bob Marley’s only ever Irish gig and his last ever outdoor concert before his untimely death in 1981. The gig, which fans have described as ‘like Shangri-La’, a ‘spiritual happening’ and akin to a ‘religious experience’ took place in Dalymount Park, the home of Bohemians F.C. in Phibsborough, on the 6th of July 1980. An estimated 23,000 people were in attendance.
Featuring interviews with the gig’s promoter Pat Egan, the support band, press photographer and a host of Bob Marley fanatics who were lucky enough to be there, the documentary gives an insight into one of Ireland’s most cherished ever concerts. As well as never-before-told details from the day, including a rundown of Marley’s rider (with some rather unusual requests…), the documentary is packed full with fascinating anecdotes, from tales of the Wailers having a kickabout on the pitch, to hand deliveries of hash, to autograph hunting in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin after the gig, and even recollections of how Marley dedicated ‘Redemption Song’ to ‘the Irish struggle.’ The weather might have been dull and overcast, but the gig was a riot of colour, to say nothing of the rather pungents smells… as one concert-goer put it, “There were a lot of people smoking – and it wasn’t Marlborough Lights.”
This slice of Irish social and musical history is sure to delight not only Marley fans, but also anyone with an interest in the changing socio-cultural landscape of Ireland in 1980. The documentary will take a look at how the gig itself came about, despite challenges in finding a venue, what it was like and what it subsequently came to represent, not only for the thousands who were there, but also for music and culture in Ireland. Produced over the summer of 2024, and in the aftermath of the success of the recent Marley biopic One Love, the documentary remains all-too-relevant not only for the continuing popularity of Bob himself, but also his message of peace, unity and One Love.
Narrated by live music fanatic Alanna MacNamee and produced by Alanna MacNamee and Tim Desmond, the documentary opens the 2024 season of RTÉ Documentary on One. It will be broadcast at 2pm on 7th September 2024.