U2 return to Dublin school where Larry Mullen's noticeboard note started it all, 50 years on

From the Newshound archive · first published 26 September 2026.

U2 marked their 50th anniversary by returning to Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, where drummer Larry Mullen first pinned a note reading "Drummer seeks musicians to form band" in September 1976. The band played a seven-song set for hundreds of students in the schoolyard before heading to Grafton Street to perform from a balcony above Bewley's Cafe for thousands more. The school shows come as the band promote 'Carnaval De Luz', their 16th studio album and first of new material since 2017, which features a duet with Dolly Parton.

Bono told the cheering Mount Temple students, 'We escaped the lab — how's the experiment going for you?', gesturing at the school's science classrooms.

The Grafton Street balcony gig drew huge crowds packing one of Dublin's busiest shopping streets, with fans catching hits across a career spanning 170 million records sold.

U2 last played Mount Temple in 1978, and one student's banner at Friday's show read: 'It's a Beautiful Day, No School'.