Arriving at Slane Castle by helicopter just after 1pm, Noel Gallagher and Gem from Oasis turned up to greet the national and international press. Noel, Gem and Lord Henry Mountcharles all sat at a table with three large TVs behind them playing Oasis videos.

Lord Henry said: "I have to say that despite all the leaks, I'm thrilled to officially announce that Oasis will be playing at Slane on June 20, 2009. Tomorrow morning they will be announcing their world tour but chose to tell their fans about Slane first.

"Slane's roots are in rock 'n' roll," he continued "and that dates all the way back to when we had Thin Lizzy play in 1981 so I see having this marvellous band headline this year as carrying on a great tradition. Plus both my mother and Noel's mother are from Mayo and I feel a link with them."

Lord Henry then handed over to Noel who observed: "It'll be nice for us to finally headline Slane after playing here supporting REM in '95. I'm looking forward to playing for our own fans. Last time we performed at Slane we had about 80 of our relatives on the guest-list and I reckon it'll be more like 97 this time around.

"Playing in Ireland is always a magical event because I think people just get drunk a lot more over here" he remarked to much laughter. "Ireland is a massive part of my youth," offered Noel when asked about his ties with the country. "I spent six weeks of my life every summer over here until I was 16."

Asked about Irish bands such as U2, Snow Patrol, Westlife and Boyzone, he deadpanned: "I think if U2 keep trying they'll crack the market eventually. Snow Patrol are good lads but them other two aren't really music are they?"

When asked about possible supports, Gem quipped he'd like REM to support them this time, and Noel said Westlife before saying he'd love to give the slot to Kasabian. Lord Henry then confirmed there will be at least one Irish act on the day.

"Oasis concerts are all about the crowd," said Noel when asked what we should expect from their show. "The bigger the gigs are, the more toys you have to play with but I'm not really interested in all that. We might get a giant inflatable Liam though."

"We stick around coz we enjoy doing it," he said when asked about his band's longevity. "I'm still trying to write the perfect song." The press conference concluded with a question about the errant fan who assaulted Noel on stage in Toronto. "It was freak incident," he proffered. "I deal with stuff like that pretty well and although we've stepped up security we don't ever want to turn into one of those US bands that have their own personal S.W.A.T. team follow them around."

Slane tickets go on sale on Friday October 24 at 8am and are limited to eight per person. Prices to be confirmed.

The Hot Press Newsdesk