Heartbreak for some as Ed Sheeran tickets sell out fast
Despite queuing overnight in the cold, wind and rain, some Ed Sheeran fans were left heartbroken as tickets for the singer's two Dublin concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale.
Mount Temple's Allie Mulligan (15) was among those who were disappointed, leaving empty-handed despite have queued outside the Ticketmaster outlet at the Daybreak shop in Athlone from shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday.
A huge Ed Sheeran fan, the Our Lady's Bower student was especially keen to see him perform on this occasion, as she missed his 2015 dates in Croke Park because she was in the Gaeltacht at the time.
Her mother, Michelle, called for a better queuing system to be introduced outside the Ticketmaster outlet in Athlone, as she said some people who were older than her daughter had forced their way in front of her in the queue despite arriving many hours after she did.
Michelle said she believed some of the people who secured tickets were not genuine fans and were buying them with the intention of selling them on at a profit.
It was a double disappointment for Allie, as she had first tried to order 'presale' tickets on Wednesday morning, and almost had them when the website suddenly crashed due to the demand.
Michelle said that, in the grand scheme of things this wasn't the most serious issue, but nevertheless her daughter was 'inconsolable' after all of the efforts and hours she spent trying buy a ticket proved to be in vain.
A queue started to form outside the Ticketmaster outlet around 9am on Wednesday morning last, a whopping 25 hours before the tickets were going on general sale.
When the Westmeath Independent visited the queue, at around 4.30pm on Wednesday, six tents had been set up outside the shop and a large group of teenagers were already in line.
Alanna Toland said it was her second time queung outdoors for Ed Sheeran tickets, having done likewise for the Croke Park dates two years ago. She was also concerned about people getting in front of her in the queue.
'When we got here today there were nine people in front of us. Now there's 15 in front of us!' she said.
Shane Cleary (16) from Moate said he hadn't seen Ed Sheeran in concert before but decided it was worth queuing out overnight for the chance of securing a ticket.
'I just wanted to go and see him this time. I don’t really understand why I did it now!' he said.
His favourite Ed Sheeran song was 'Nina', and he had previously seen Avicii and The Coronas in concert.
Shane was one of those who did succeed in buying a ticket. On Thursday morning, he said he didn't get any sleep overnight but was happy his hours of waiting had paid off.
Sheeran, who has strong Irish connections, will play the 3Arena in Dublin on April 12 and 13.