The Rolling Stones will perform at Croke Park on May 17

The Rolling Stones will definitely be rocking out at Croke Park this May after Dublin City Council granted Aiken Promotions its Outdoor Event Licence (OEL).

An application was made to the council's planning section last month in a bid to secure a fourth musical date at the northside stadium, given that all three exemption dates had already been booked.

Aiken last night confirmed that it has been given the green light for the long-awaited gig in Croker on May 17, despite objections from some local residents.

In addition to opening the second leg of their No Filter tour, it will also be the largest venue that Mick Jagger and his band-mates will perform at this summer.

The tour will start in Ireland and then take in dates in the UK, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Tickets for their only Irish gig will go on general release this Friday morning at 9am, priced from €70.45 - with the Gold Circle tickets starting at €181.

They are expected to sell out within minutes, given that this is the band's first Irish gig in 11 years.

A small number of tickets will also be released in a pre-sale event for die-hard fans tomorrow morning.

Bonanza

Stadium operators had already used their three permitted exemption dates for Taylor Swift playing two nights there and Michael Buble performing in July, meaning they had to secure an OEL from the council for the Stones' gig to proceed.

With a sell-out gig in Croke Park worth an estimated €12m to the local economy, that particular week in May is set to be a bonanza one for the capital city.

Dublin will be thronged with music fans in the days around the Stones' concert, given that singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will be performing three sell-out dates in the Phoenix Park on May 15, 18 and 19.

Tickets for the rest of the dates in the Stones' European tour had already gone on sale earlier this month, with their Irish date the only one that was subject to licence.

"This part of the No Filter tour is really special for the Stones," said Jagger.

"We are looking forward to getting back onstage in the summer and playing to fans in the UK and Ireland.

"It's always exhilarating going to cities we haven't played for quite a while and also some new venues for us.''

Meanwhile, a representative of the Clonliffe and Croke Park Area residents association said it is "deeply unhappy" with the council's decision to green-light the concert.

Chairperson Patrick Gates say they fear it could create a precedent for future years where Croke Park will regularly stage four non-sporting events annually.

"We're not happy - that's the bottom line and we feel that we've been let down by Dublin City Council," he said.

"Our fear is that this is only the tip of the iceberg and this will only lead to an intensification of the use of Croke Park.

"We're very disappointed at Dublin City Council's decision. They seem to be putting entertainment over the residents' quality of life."

Mr Gates said that the residents won't be just disrupted on the day of the concert itself but also the days leading up to the event where huge crews start setting up the sprawling stage and concert screen.