Taylor Swift mania has gripped Ireland in recent days and the megastar certainly lived up to the hype during the first night of her sold-out Eras Tour run at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Friday night, June 28.
"It's been over five years since I've played a gig in Dublin and you know this already, but nobody does it like you!" Swift told her audience of some 50,000 people early in her set on Friday evening.
The Eras Tour is Swift's fourth time headlining one of her tours in Ireland. She brought her Speak Now world tour to Belfast and Dublin in 2011, her 1989 world tour to Dublin in 2015, and her Reputation world tour to Dublin in 2018.
With what is set to be her biggest run of concerts in Ireland, Swift added some special Irish touches to her opening night in Dublin.
During Swift's performance "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," dancer Kameron Saunders chimed in with an enthusiastic "Póg Mo Thóin" much to the delight of the Irish audience.
It was part of a bit where Saunders replaces "like, ever" in the song with a phrase local to the area.
🚨| Kam during "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" at today's show of Taylor Swift's 'The Eras Tour'! #DublinTSTheErasTour
"PÓG MO THÓIN!" (Kiss my a** in Irish)
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) June 28, 2024
"Póg Mo Thóin" wasn't the only utterance of the Irish language during Friday night's show. As per RTÉ Entertainment and the Irish Examiner, Swift swapped the "1, 2, 3" during "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" to "a hAon, dó, trí, ceathair."
Elsewhere, Swift - whose outfit choices throughout her Eras Tour are often the focus of intense speculation by her diehard fan army of Swifties - debuted a sparkly two-piece outfit with the colors of the Irish flag when she entered the "1989" portion of the concert.
She's feeling so #DublinTSTheErasTour tonight! 🥰🇮🇪 #TSTheErasTour https://t.co/o1iq2gqea0
— Taylor Nation (@taylornation13) June 28, 2024
Perhaps not surprisingly, Swift selected "Sweet Nothing" as one of the 'surprise songs' during her three-hour set. The song, included on her 2022 album "Midnights," famously includes a mention of Co Wicklow.
“I spy with my little tired eye / Tiny as a firefly, a pebble / That we picked up last July / Down deep inside your pocket / We almost forgot it / Does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?”
Playing at her piano, Swift blended "Sweet Nothing" with "Hoax," a song from her 2020 album "Folklore."
🚨| Taylor Swift performing a mashup of "Sweet Nothing" and "hoax" for the first time ever at today's show! #DublinTSTheErasTour
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) June 28, 2024
Earlier in the evening, opening act Paramore gave their own nod to Ireland when singer Hayley Williams donned a Cranberries t-shirt while performing.
Paramore’s Hayley Williams sporting The Cranberries t-shirt while supporting Taylor Swift in Dublin 🇮🇪#DublinTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/bdQMHnm9Kv
— Today FM 💛 (@TodayFM) June 28, 2024
It was a strong, Irish-hued start for Swift's sold-out three nights in Dublin.
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