Typed letter June 1982 from Jim Aiken, Arnie Pustilnik and Andre Wilkinson in regards to the Rolling Stones playing Slane.
One of Jim Aiken’s first major coups was in persuading the Rolling Stones to play at Slane Castle in 1982. It was only the second time that Lord Henry Mountcharles had staged a large outdoor concert in his natural amphitheatre (Thin Lizzy had played there the previous year, supported by U2). These telex messages hashed out the agreement between the band and the Dublin-based concert promoter. The Rolling Stones would pay for the stage, lighting and support bands out of a $375,000 fee… plus a percentage of ticket sales.

A colour photograph of Muhammad Ali in his boxing gear and standing in a fighting stance outdoors with fields behind him. From Getty 'Muhammad Ali during training on 10 July 1972 for his fight with Al 'Blue' Lewis held at Croke Park in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.'

Muhammad Ali fought Al Lewis in Croke Park in July 1972. The promoter Harry Conrad had always wanted to stage a heavyweight fight, and managed to convince Ali to fight Lewis in Dublin for $200,000. He is shown here training for the fight. Ticket sales were slow, but about 5,000 people managed to sneak in without paying. The fight itself was not very exciting – Lewis barely troubled Ali – but people were still thrilled to see Ali fight. Fans swamped the field around the ring and it took almost half an hour to clear a path back to the dressing rooms.

A black and white concert poster for the Virgin Prunes showing a picture of the band and captioned with ‘project arts club band’. ‘Art at the project sept. 18 7.59’

Bono joined the Virgin Prunes for a few songs at this gig in the Project Arts Centre. The Prunes were fronted by Gavin Friday, who was joined by fellow members of the ‘Lypton Village’ Guggi, David Watson, Strongman (Trevor Rowen), Dik Evans (brother of U2’s The Edge) and Anthony Murphy on drums.

A vinyl LP of U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' in cover. The cover is autographed by all four members.

Under a Blood Red Sky is a live album, recorded during U2’s tour in support of War, their third album. It was U2’s first headline tour of Europe and the US, and the band moved from small clubs to larger venues, even some arenas towards the end of the tour. Released along with the concert film Live at Red Rocks, the album bolstered U2’s reputation as a cracking live band. This copy is signed by the band.

The wagon from the RTÉ children's television show 'Wanderly Wagon'

This model of the Wanderly Wagon was used for the flying scenes in the RTE children’s programme. (The wheels have been repaired with Lego.) Wanderly Wagon ran from 1967 until 1982, and it was a beloved part of many an Irish childhood. The central role of O’Brien was played by the legendary puppeteer Eugene Lambert, who travelled the country in his flying wagon. O’Brien was joined by characters such as the grumpy Fortycoats, the lovable Godmother (played by Nora O’Mahoney) a flying dog called Judge, and old Mr Crow, a rather sardonic and unlikable bird. Strange but true: Neil Jordan once wrote an episode of Wanderly Wagon.

A vinyl LP of Thin Lizzy's 'Shades of A Blue Orphanage'. Blue cover with black and white pictures, the front of three children and the back shows the three bandmembers walking through St. Stephen's Green, dated 10 January 1962.

Shades of a Blue Orphanage is Thin Lizzy’s second album, released in 1972. The name is a composite of the members’ previous bands, Shades of Blue and Orphanage. The band is pictured walking beside the pond in St. Stephen’s Green on the back cover.