U2 Celebrate 50th Anniversary With Surprise Pop-Up Concerts in Dublin

U2 celebrated their 50th anniversary on Friday by staging surprise performances at their former Dublin school, Mount Temple Comprehensive, and later on the balcony of Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street. The band performed tracks spanning their five decades together, drawing large crowds and introducing new music.

Friday marked 50 years to the day since the musicians who would become U2 first rehearsed together at Larry Mullen Jr’s family home in Artane on 25 September 1976. To mark the milestone, the band executed a pair of surprise concerts in Dublin that disrupted traffic, drew thousands of fans from around the world, and brought unexpected mid-day relief to local students.

Mount Temple Comprehensive Schoolyard Gig and School Memories

The celebrations began mid-morning at Mount Temple Comprehensive, where fans started gathering outside shortly after 9am. Inside, students received the day off lessons and were corralled in classrooms while final stage checks took place. Bono and The Edge were photographed stopping to chat and take selfies on their way into the school.

A small audience of friends, family, and journalists—including former manager Paul McGuinness, artist Guggi, and broadcaster Dave Fanning—watched from a riser at the back of the yard. At 2pm sharp, the band took to the stage to the sound of Alice Cooper’s School’s Out. Despite early technical gremlins with Bono’s microphone that caused tense moments for reporters, the band powered through a tight set.

Reflecting on the location, Bono praised the school’s unique atmosphere during the 1970s. Bassist Adam Clayton noted earlier in the year that the group were encouraged to be individuals and allowed to rehearse on school premises on Wednesdays and Saturdays. During band introductions, Larry Mullen Jr was credited as the man who pinned the note—referencing the 1976 noticeboard ad seeking musicians—and Clayton was dubbed the streaker of the green corridor.

Grafton Street Balcony Performance at Bewley’s Cafe

By Friday evening, the celebration moved to the city centre, where a packed crowd gathered on Grafton Street as U2 played a surprise set from the balcony of Bewley’s Cafe. Four large speakers blew the cover of the appearance, quickly drawing thousands of spectators and causing severe congestion. Street photographer Charlie O’Neill, 69, estimated it took him seven or eight minutes to walk 10 yards as the area filled to capacity.

U2 Celebrate 50th Anniversary With Surprise Pop-Up Concerts in Dublin — Photo: RTE.ie

Fans traveled from across the globe for the weekend pilgrimage. Tilles Tijmes, a Dutch fan living in Denmark, booked a hostel after learning about the milestone. Todd and Lara Garrison-Gebhart flew in from Michigan, continuing a decades-long tradition of traveling for the band’s major milestones that began with The Joshua Tree tour in 1987. Emer Bolger traveled from Carlow with her six-year-old son, Senan, noting she had been an avid fan since 1985.

Five Decades of Music and Poignant Tributes

Across both performances, the band delivered a career-spanning setlist that interlocked early material with new releases. At Mount Temple, the main set closed with One, accompanied by a group of young harpists, violinists, and viola players from the Music Generation programme, which U2 co-funds with the Irish state. They returned to close the school show with a stripped-back version of With or Without You.

U2 guitarist The Edge singer and Bono during the band's performance on the balcony of Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in — Photo: Irishtimes

The Grafton Street set featured tracks spanning their five-decade career, opening with I Will Follow, Out of Control, and One, followed by Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, and Beautiful Day.

The band also performed their new single, Silencio, from the forthcoming album Carnaval de Luz. During the city centre performance, U2 paused for a poignant tribute to the late Glen Hansard, performing Falling Slowly—the song Hansard co-wrote with Markéta Irglová for the film Once. Hansard, who passed away in July, maintained a deeply rooted association with Grafton Street and its annual Christmas Eve charity busk.