If Brian Keville had wanted Thurles, he could have taken it on Sunday night.
The crowd on the final evening of the sold-out Liberty Music Festival would have carried the Qween frontman down the road singing We Are the Champions.
There would have been no fight. For two days and two nights, Thurles was electric.
Five thousand people came to see 14 tribute bands packed into Thurles town park.
Sports clubs in and around the town accommodated 800 tents and caravans with visitors travelling from all over Ireland, the UK and the US.
Madonna tribute Guilty Pleasures opened the festival on Saturday followed by Wham act James Bermingham and his band.
All favourites were sung for the entertainment of families, couples and friends.
Aidan Mac was the MC for the event. He along with security and festival staff kept everyone’s spirits up even while they danced in the rain.
Thin Lizzy tribute Dedication and Complete Madness played in the early evening.
The latter of which nobody was certain the crowd would allow to leave. In the evening Bowie act Heroes from Mars took to the stage followed by Proud Mary as Tina Turner and Mack Fleetwood as Fleetwood Mac.
The festival was costumes galore with people dressed in bright suits, goth get-ups and two boys dressed as Mario Brothers.
By the second day, even the men were wearing flower crowns.
The show opened with the fabulous Smokie Experience, followed by the bright and cheerful The 80s Generation, Billy Joel/Elton John Piano Man and Supersonic (Oasis).
The heavens opened during Bon Jovi tribute Slippery When Wet’s performance but even that did not dampen the excitement of the crowd.
The photographers, however, were less impressed but made do dancing from a backstage tent.
Waterloo (Abba) shone on stage as the sky got its act together. Qween finished out the weekend.
They had been a fan favourite from last year and there was excitement in the park all weekend for their performance. And they did not disappoint.
Before they hit the stage Keville took photos with fans and did his sound check on stage, a sneak peek at what was to come.
Their final song was only delivered on the condition, as Aidan Mac said that the crowd behaved themselves as they left the park.
For the most part, they did. The festival was organised by a committee led by Councillor Jim Ryan who took to the stage to thank everyone for coming.
A group in the front row of the crowd responded: “That’s alright Jim” to everyone's amusement.
At the Liberty Music Festival, there was no shortage of amusement or entertainment.
Before the event, Cllr Ryan said he hoped the weekend would put Thurles on the map for festivals.
And why shouldn’t it? Everything good about Thurles was on display this weekend and there was even a soundtrack to boot.
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